91Ó°ÊÓ

In mathematics, division is one of the four primary arithmetic operations. When working with integers (whole numbers), it's known as integer division.
Integer division works by taking one integer (called the dividend) and dividing it by another integer (called the divisor). For example, in our problem, 24 is the dividend and -12 is the divisor.

The process of division can be succinctly represented by the following formula:
\[ \text{Quotient} = \frac{\text{Dividend}}{\text{Divisor}} \]

Let's look at this with our specific values:
\[ \frac{24}{-12} = -2 \]

Here, dividing 24 by -12 gives us -2 as the quotient. Note that when the dividend and the divisor have opposite signs, the quotient will always be negative. Conversely, if both numbers have the same sign, the quotient will be positive.

Verifying the result of a division operation helps to ensure that the quotient is correct.
To verify the result of our integer division problem, we multiply the quotient by the divisor and confirm that the result equals the original dividend.

For our problem, we calculated the quotient as -2. The original divisor was -12. To verify the result, we multiply these two values:
\[ -2 \times -12 \]
Multiplying two negative numbers gives a positive result:
\[ -2 \times -12 = 24 \]

Since the product of -2 and -12 is indeed 24, which matches our original dividend, this confirms our division was performed correctly.
Always double-checking your work this way helps catch any errors and reinforces your understanding.

Negative numbers are numbers less than zero, represented with a minus sign (-). When dealing with negative numbers in division, there are some key rules to remember:

• Dividing a positive number by a negative number results in a negative quotient.
• Dividing a negative number by a positive number also results in a negative quotient.
• Dividing two negative numbers yields a positive quotient.

In our problem, the dividend was positive (24) and the divisor was negative (-12), leading to a negative quotient (-2).
Understanding these rules can help you handle operations involving negative numbers more effectively. Always keep them in mind.
For instance:

• Positive ÷ Negative = Negative
  (e.g., 24 ÷ -12 = -2)
• Negative ÷ Positive = Negative
  (e.g., -24 ÷ 12 = -2)
• Negative ÷ Negative = Positive
  (e.g., -24 ÷ -12 = 2)