What is the product of $(-23)(18)(-4)$?
We are tasked with computing the product of three integers: \(-23\), \(18\), and \(-4\). The mathematical expression to evaluate is \((-23) \times 18 \times (-4)\). We recall that the product of two negative numbers is positive, and the product of a positive number and a negative number is negative. We can use the associative property of multiplication, which allows us to group the numbers in any way to simplify the calculation, such as \((-23) \times (-4) \times 18\).
First, we multiply the two negative integers: \((-23) \times (-4)\). Since the product of two negative numbers is always positive, we compute \(23 \times 4 = 92\). Now, the original expression simplifies to \(92 \times 18\). We can further break this down by calculating \(92 \times 18 = 92 \times (10 + 8) = (92 \times 10) + (92 \times 8) = 920 + 736 = 1,656\).
Comparing our result of \(1,656\) with the given options, we find it corresponds to the final option. Thus, the product of \((-23)(18)(-4)\) is \(\boxed{1,656}\).
In daily life, this concept of multiplying signed numbers is common in financial accounting. For example, if a company incurs a debt of \(\$23\) (represented as \(-23\)) for each of the \(18\) items it sells, but then receives a refund or credit of \(\$4\) (represented as \(-4\)) for each of those items due to a discount program, calculating the total impact on their balance involves multiplying these signed values. Just like in our problem, understanding the rules for multiplying negative numbers helps in accurately tracking gains and losses over time.