• Limitless_screaming
    link
    fedilink
    17 months ago

    No, you’d expect that -2^2 would equal 4, but calculators solve it as -(2)^2 not (-2)^2. But the case you mentioned is also pretty common.

    • @ReveredOxygen
      link
      English
      97 months ago

      if you’ve touched polynomials ever, you’d expect the exponent to be before the negation. If you write x³-x² you don’t mean x³ + (-x)² = x³+x², you mean x³-(x²)

      • Limitless_screaming
        link
        fedilink
        27 months ago

        I was taught that negative numbers should be written as (-2) with the parentheses when using exponents. So I assume that the calculators are doing it right, or maybe it’s just a measure against calculators doing it wrong? I cannot be sure. Also-2 = 0-2 so -2^2 = 0-2^2.