Question

2. Explain the difference between (-5)2 and
-5^2

Answer 1

Explanation:

(-5)2 means you are multiplying -5 and 2 which gives you -10:

-5x2 = -10

-5^2 means you are multiplying -5 by -5 which gives you 25:

-5x-5 = 25

the difference is that for the first one you multiply -5 by 2 and for the second one you multiply -5 by itself.

Answer 2

The difference between (-5)² and -5² is whether or not the negative sign is included when squaring.

(-5)² becomes -5 times -5 which is equal to 25.

-5² becomes -(5 times 5) which is equal to -25.

Depending upon whether or not you include the parentheses, your answer could be either negative or positive. In this case, the difference between (-5)² and -5² is 50 (|25| + |-25|).

Here I am assuming that (-5)2 was meant to be (-5)².