(-2)x(-2) is 4-- why?

Answer 1

Whenever 2 negatives are multiplied, it makes a positive. It's rather complicated, but here are some other examples of similar rules:
2X(-2)=(-4)
2-(-2)=4

Answer 2

I assume that you need to learn how to type and that the real formula was -2*X -2 =4.

If that is correct then this is true because X=-3

-2*(-3)-2=4
6-2=4
4=4
I see a different way to interpret what was typed and see a better question.
I now will assume that the formula means negative two times negative two is positive four

An example of the concept from English would be the following
False means not true.
Not false therefore means true.

Multiplying a negative number times something is accomplished by initially ignoring the minus sign and doing the multiplication and then subtracting the result from zero.
(-2)*(-2)=0-(2*(-2))=0-(0-(2*2))=0-(0-4)=0-(-4)=0+4=4

Answer 3

It has to do with how we define mulitplication. At it's root, multiplication is just a series of additions.

So, 2 x 2 is just 2 added to itself twice.

2 x -2 is -2 added to itself twice, or -4.

The rules for multiplication tell us that -2 x 2 should also be -4, so we interpret -2 x 2 to mean 2 added to itself a -2 number of times.

This is the same logic for -2 x -2. You add -2 to itself a -2 number of times. The words sound silly in english, but it's consistent with how we utilize other numbers in multiplication.

By the way, you aren't the first to question this. For a long time, negative numbers were disallowed in mathematics as making no sense. This happened again later with imaginary numbers. But mathematics found a way to enclude all this and more under a consistent umbrella of rules.

Answer 4

two neg. make a positive.therefore 2 x 2 = 4

Answer 5

First: when you multiply two negative numbers, the negative signs become positive...

2*2 = 4

Answer 6

Here's a more formal proof:

First, we prove that (-1)*x = -x for all x.
(-1)*x + x = (-1)*x + 1*x = (-1+1)*x = 0*x = 0.
Therefore (-1)*x is the additive inverse of x, i.e. -x.

So.
(-2)*(-2) =
(-1)*2*(-1)*2 =
(-1)*(-1)*2*2 =
(-1)*(-1)*4 =
(-1)*(-4) =
-(-4) =
4.

Answer 7

Two negatives make a positive and then you just do the math.
Example: (-1)x(-1)=1
(-3)x(-3)=9

Answer 8

when multiplying, negative signs will cancel out one another. So if there are an even number of negative signs being multiplied, the answer will be positive, if there is an odd number, the answer will be negative

Answer 9

The negatives cancel out each other so its
2x2=4

- and + equals negative
- and - equals positive
+and + equals positive

Answer 10

Since -*-= + we get +4 as the answer.