Question

Joanna says that multiplying five negative numbers will result in a positive answer. Kyle states that multiplying five negative numbers would be a negative answer. Who is correct and why?

a) Joanna is correct because negative numbers times negative numbers yield positive results.
b) Kyle is correct because multiplying negative numbers always results in a negative product.
c) Both are correct depending on the specific numbers involved.
d) Neither is correct; it depends on the context.

Answer 1

Kyle is correct; multiplying an odd number of negative numbers results in a negative answer, as each pair of negatives makes a positive, leaving one negative unpaired.

Step-by-step explanation:

Let's address the question, which is whether multiplying five negative numbers results in a positive or negative answer. When two negative numbers are multiplied together, the product is positive due to the rule that a negative times a negative gives a positive result. However, multiplying an odd number of negative numbers will result in a negative product because you will always have one negative number without a pair to change the sign. Therefore, the correct answer is b) Kyle is correct because multiplying five negative numbers results in a negative answer.