Multiply & Divide Integers

How the lesson starts: Multiply & Divide Integers

Bun digs a tunnel
Meet Bun the bunny! Bun digs a tunnel under the garden, going down 3 feet every hour. Going down means negative. After 4 hours, where will Bun be? Let's learn to multiply negative numbers!
Groups of negatives
The ground is zero. Bun digs down 3: −3. Again: −6. Again: −9. Again: −12. Four groups of −3 is −12. So 4 × (−3) = −12. A positive times a negative is negative.
A pattern tells why
Watch: 3 × (−3) = −9. 2 × (−3) = −6. 1 × (−3) = −3. 0 × (−3) = 0. Each answer goes up by 3! So (−1) × (−3) must be 3. A negative times a negative is positive!