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Question

ok this is my math hw... (-7) to the power of 2 and -7 to the power of 2
WHAT IS UP WIT THE PARENTHASES?!
i dont understand it i know that a negative + a negative is a positive but still... it will both be 49 from the way im working it out
PLZ HELP!!

Answer 1

(-7)^2=(-7)(-7)=+49
-7^2=-(7)(7)=-49

Answer 2

The reason the parentheses are there is to help you decide what order to figure things out in!

For your example,
(-7)^2 means -7 times -7, or 49

-7^2 generally means the negative of 7-squared, or -49.

Here is another example: 2+3*5 is 17 using a rule I remember that says you do the multiplications first, and then the additions.
If you wanted to add 2+3 and then multiply by 5, you would need the parentheses: (2+3)*5 = 5*5 = 25. Things inside parentheses are always solved first.

Answer 3

The parentheses are there in order to indicate that you are raising negative seven to the second power. Look:

(-7) ^ 2 = 49

-(7 ^ 2) = -49

Answer 4

if you rais a negative by an even power (e.g. 2, 4, 6 ,8), it will be a positive. if you raise it in an odd number (i.e. 3, 5 ,7) it will be a negative. whereas in positives, if you reaise them in either odd or even, they will still be positives.


example: (-7)^2 is the same as -7 x -7 which is equal to 49

but what if (-2)^3? where 3 is an odd number? it is the same as
-2 x -2 which is equal to 4 then multiply it again by -2 for the third time coz its power is 3, so you'll get a negative number as a result, which is -8.

Answer 5

sometimes a negative indicates that it wants the opposite.
so, (-7)^2 means -7 squared, or 49
however, -7^2 can also mean, the opposite of 7 squared. 7 squared=49. the opposite? -49
its a play on symbols. generally, unless there are parentheses, do the operation requested, then factor in the sign.

Answer 6

Careful about calculators. They don't always follow the correct precedence rules for operations. Use lots of ( ), they're free.