• ByGourou@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    7
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    8 months ago

    Isn’t the “-” order of operations the same as a multiply ? I think I learned powers take priority over the “-” so your calculator would be right.
    But either way if it can cause confusion you should use parentheses.

    • TonyTonyChopper@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      8 months ago

      Every calculator I’ve used has separate negative and subtraction keys for this purpose. There is no order of operations to follow, it’s just a squaring a number

      • ByGourou@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        8 months ago

        I learned negative as being a separate operation where we need to apply the order of operations. I think it was something like : -2 is a diminutive for -1x2 so it uses the order of operations of a multiplication.
        My calculator is the official one used in schools in France (ti-83 premium ce) and it says -2^2 = -4 with the negative key. I don’t think it would make a mistake in such a simple concept.

        But whatever these concepts can change depending on the field, country, level of education. What I mean is : it’s unclear, so use parentheses. So (-2)^2 or -(2^2) are the correct ways to write it.