To divide \(-71.24\) by \(0.4\), you can set it up as follows:
\[ -71.24 \div 0.4 \]
To make the calculation easier, you can multiply both the numerator and the denominator by \(10\) to eliminate the decimal:
\[ -71.24 \times 10 = -712.4 \quad \text{and} \quad 0.4 \times 10 = 4 \]
So the division now looks like this:
\[ -712.4 \div 4 \]
Now, performing the division:
\[ -712.4 \div 4 = -178.1 \]
Therefore,
\[ -71.24 \div 0.4 = -178.1 \]
So the final answer is:
\[ \boxed{-178.1} \]