Why do calculators think -3^2 is -(3^2)? -3 and (-3) are the same thing. Therefore it should not change the math by putting the parentheses in the wrong place! -3 x -3 is the correct equation described, not -3 x 3!
+33654 What you have said is not correct! Remember that raising to a power takes precedence over negation, so -32 without brackets is the same as -(32). Suppose this were not the case, then you could have the following strange situation:
-32 = 9
0 - 32 = -9
Yet most of us think of -32 as the same thing as 0 - 32.
If you don't like this convention (namely, that -32 is different from (-3)2), then use Microsoft Excel, which treats them as the same! Most proper scientific calculators and mathematical software treat raising to the power as a higher priority than unary negation.
On the calculator on this site, if you enter -32, the calculator even puts brackets around the 32 to reinforce the fact that it is making the standard assumptions on hierarchy!
−(32)=−9
+33654 What you have said is not correct! Remember that raising to a power takes precedence over negation, so -32 without brackets is the same as -(32). Suppose this were not the case, then you could have the following strange situation:
-32 = 9
0 - 32 = -9
Yet most of us think of -32 as the same thing as 0 - 32.
If you don't like this convention (namely, that -32 is different from (-3)2), then use Microsoft Excel, which treats them as the same! Most proper scientific calculators and mathematical software treat raising to the power as a higher priority than unary negation.
On the calculator on this site, if you enter -32, the calculator even puts brackets around the 32 to reinforce the fact that it is making the standard assumptions on hierarchy!
−(32)=−9
