get 2 numbers and return the second number with the sign of the first number

Question

I know it's more about programming, but I can use arithmetic operators only so I think it fits the math community.

$\frac{|xy|}{x}=\frac{\sqrt{x^2y^2}}x$ works if $x \not =0$ – Henry Jun 10 '20 at 13:55 — Henry, Jun 10 '20 at 13:55
thank you soooo soooo much! – Code Newbie Jun 10 '20 at 14:19 — Code Newbie, Jun 10 '20 at 14:19

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 10 '20 at 13:54

0

If $x$ is not zero, its sign is $|x|/x$. Thus you'd just need to return $|xy|/x$, where $x$ is the first number, and $y$ is the second number (assuming we don't care about the second number's sign).

E.g. $x=5$ and $y=-3$ gives $|5(-3)|/5 = 3$.

If one of them is zero, I guess it would depend on the application. Do you have a positive/negative zero?

answered Jun 10 '20 at 13:54

Luke Collins

8,748

only negative and positive numbers. Thank you – Code Newbie Jun 10 '20 at 14:19

get 2 numbers and return the second number with the sign of the first number

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