Question

Evaluate the following expression:

[(-72) $÷$ 9] $÷$ 4

Answer 1

[(-72) $÷$ 9] $÷$ 4
= [-8] $÷$ 4
= -2, which is the required answer.

Note that division of integers is not associative, therefore, we cannot change the order of the numbers associated with the division.
If we evalutated the expression in the following manner, we would get a different answer:
[(-72) $÷$ 9] $÷$ 4
= (-72) $÷$[ 9$÷$ 4]
= (-72) $÷$[$\frac{9}{4}$]
= (-72) $\times \frac{4}{9}$
=-32, which is not the correct answer. Therefore, we must keep in mind not to change the order of a division expression.