Answer: To multiply two numbers, we need to multiply their absolute values and then determine the sign of the product based on the signs of the factors. If the factors have the same sign, the product is positive. If the factors have different signs, the product is negative.
In this case, we have (−2.1) ⋅ (−1.4), which means both factors are negative. Therefore, the product will be positive. To find the absolute value of each factor, we need to remove the negative sign and treat them as positive numbers. Then, we can use the standard algorithm for multiplying decimals:
2 . 1
x 1 . 4
- - - - - - -
. . . . 8 4
+ . . 2 1
- - - - -
. . 2 9 4
We can see that the product of the absolute values is 2.94. Since both factors are negative, we keep the product positive. Therefore, the final answer is 2.94.
The correct response among the given options is 2.94.