five eighths means 5/8
negative five eighths means -5/8
one half means 1/2
so 1/2 of negative five eighths means multiply 1/2 with -5/8
[tex] \frac{1}{2} * \frac{-5}{8} [/tex]
multiplying numerators together and denominators together,
[tex] \frac{1*(-5)}{2*8} [/tex]
So answer is -5/16