Answer:
8 3/4
Explanation:
There are an even number of minus signs in the product, so the answer will be positive. Knowing this, you can drop the minus signs altogether.
Each mixed number can be converted to an improper fraction.
... 2 1/2 = (2·2 +1)/2 = 5/2
... 3 1/2 = (3·2 +1)/2 = 7/2
Now, the product is of two fractions:
... (5/2)·(7/2) = (5·7)/(2·2) = 35/4
And we can do the division to find the corresponding mixed number.
... 35 ÷ 4 = 8 remainder 3
(-2 1/2)·(-3 1/2) = 35/4 = 8 3/4