My favourite way to remember whether my answer is positive or negative when I multiply two numbers is to think of the following:
a) If you multiply two numbers with the SAME sign (i.e. two positive numbers or two negative numbers) the result will be POSITIVE.
+ x + = +
- x - = +
b) If you multiple two numbers with OPPOSITE signs the result will be NEGATIVE.
- x + = +
+ x - = +
For example:
a)
6 x 2 = 12
-6 x -2 = 12
b)
-6 x 2 = -12
6 x -2 = -12