Re: Simple math/syntax problem
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what's to argue about?
(-5)^2 = 25
- (5^2) = -25
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Everybody agrees that (-5)^2 = 25 and -(5^2) = -25.
The question is which of those two possibilities -5^2 represents.
Without any parentheses, what's the correct order of operations? Do you square the five and then make the result negative? Or do you make the five negative and then square it?
It's really a syntax problem rather than a math problem, but some people say it's ambiguous, some people say it's unambiguously 25, and some say it's unambiguously -25.
There does appear to be a correct answer according to what is apparently the standard convention.
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