When I want to square -6, why does my calculator say it's -36, when I know it is positive 36?
If you want to square -6 on a calculator, you have to place parentheses around the -6, otherwise your calculator is doing just what you tell it to, and taking the negative of six squared.
For example: -6² = - (6)(6) {this only shows the 6 is squared, not the negative sign also} = -36 {took the negative of 6 times 6} (-6)² = (-6)(-6) {this shows the negative 6 is being squared} = 36 {multiplied -6 by -6) Your calculator doesn't make mistakes, it's how you enter the information that needs to be corrected when evaluating exponents. Ask Algebra House Comments are closed.
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