What happens when you times a number less than 1?

Answer 1

Let us see what happens if you times by, say, 2 and 5:

If the "number less than 1" is in fact less than -1 (eg -4), then

the answer will be negative and the absolute value of your answer will be bigger than the number you are timesing by:

2*(-4) = -8 and 5*(-4) = -20 [8 is bigger than 2, 20 is bigger than 5]

If the number is -1, then timesing it simply makes it negative.

2*(-1) = -2 and 5*(-1) = -5

If the number is between -1 and 0 (eg -0.6), you will get a negative number that is smaller than whatever you are timesing by:

2*(-0.6) = -1.2 and 5*(-0.6) = -3.0 [1.2 is smaller than 2, 3 is smaller than 5]

If the number is 0, the answer is 0.

If the number is between 0 and 1 (eg 0.6), you will get a number that is smaller than whatever you are timesing by:

2*(0.6) = 1.2 and 5*(0.6) = 3.0 [1.2 is smaller than 2, 3 is smaller than 5]

And that covers all possible numbers smaller than 1.