This always pisses me off. what is -X^n?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Curd
  • Start date Start date
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
2 replies · 2K views
Curd
Messages
78
Reaction score
1
i see things along the lines of -X^n quite frequently.

is this meant to represent (-X)^n or -(X^n)
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Precedence of Operations: "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally"
First do what every is in parentheses, then exponents, then multiplication, then division, then addition, then subtraction. (Of course, you can interchange multiplication and division and interchange additon and subtraction.)

The negative in [itex]-x^n[/itex] represents multiplication by -1. Since exponents take precedenct that is [itex]-(x^n)[/itex] as Mark44 said.