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How would I divide the following integers

(-120)(31)/(-5)(-8)(9)

My result is -3720/360 but my book tell me it is zero?

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    There is only one answer $-\frac{31}{3}$ like Andre mentioned.2012-03-20

1 Answers 1

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The expression is somewhat ambiguous. It be read either as

$\frac{(-120)(31)}{(-5)(-8)(9)}$

or as

$\frac{(-120)(31)(-8)(9)}{-5}$

When writing expressions like this, you should always place brackets to make the grouping of terms obvious.

In any case, the answer is certainly negative, since none of the factors in the numerator are zero, and there are three minus signs.

In the first case, the fraction simplifies to

$-\frac{3720}{360} = -\frac{31}{3}$

which is presumably how you arrived at your answer, and in the second case it simplifies to

$-53568$

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    I agree that *almost everyone* reads $a/bc$ as $a/(bc)$ rather than $(a/b)c$, but since the possibility for ambiguity exists, it seems prudent to be explicit rather than implicit (following the principle that you should always be [twice as explicit as you think necessary](http://www.atm.damtp.cam.ac.uk/mcintyre/lucidity-in-brief/))2012-04-20