It seems as though there is a typo in the question ..
#x# is probably meant to be #xx#
#10 1/4 xx (-0.5) + (-7.95)#
#=41/4 xx -1/2 -7.95#
#=-41/8 -7.95" "larr# decimals are probably easier
#=-5 1/8 -7.95#
#= -5.125 -7.95#
#= -13.075#
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If there is no typo, we have: (#10 1/4 = 41/4#)
#(41x)/4 xx -1/2 -7.95#
#=-(41x)/8 -7.95" "larr# we could stop here, or express as decimals as shown in another answer, or simplify the fractions further:
#=-(41x)/8 -795/100#
#=-(41x)/8 xx125/125 -795/100 xx 10/10#
#= (-5.125x)/1000 -7950/1000" "larr# common denominator
#=(-5.125x -7950)/1000#
(Whether we would regard this as 'simpler' is debatable. )
