NCERT Solutions for Class 7th Maths Chapter 2 Try This — Multiplication of Integers
Book page 41 Updated on2026-09-19
Q1.
Can you visually show the distributive property for an expression like –4 × (2 + (–3))? [Hint: Use the fact that multiplying a number by –4 is adding the inverse of the number 4 times.]
Answer
Yes. Use the hint: multiplying by –4 means adding the inverse of the multiplicand, 4 times.
The multiplicand here is the set “2 greens and 3 reds”. Its inverse is “2 reds and 3 greens”. Lay out 4 rows of that inverse set.
Four rows of the inverse set: 8 red tokens on the left and 12 green tokens on the right, giving –8 + 12 = 4.
Why it happens: multiplying by a negative number turns every token in the set to the opposite colour before it is repeated. Turning colours does not disturb which column a token sits in, so the block can still be split down the middle exactly as before. Both readings count the same 20 tokens, and 12 greens against 8 reds leave 4.
Tip: the picture also shows why the answer is positive even though the multiplier is negative. The bracket 2 + (–3) is itself negative, and a negative times a negative is positive.