How do you simplify #(8)(-2^2)#?

2 Answers
Apr 17, 2018

#32#

Explanation:

#(8)(-2^2)#

#:.(8)(-2*-2)#

#:.(8)(4)#

#:.8xx4=32#

Apr 17, 2018

Use PEMDAS and you will find that the simplified value is 32.

Explanation:

Let's use PEMDAS, which is an abbreviation for:

P arentheses
E xponents
M ultiplication
D ivision
A ddition
S ubtraction

This is the order of operations when working with mathematical expressions. Starting from the top, we have two elements in parentheses:

#color(green)((8))color(purple)((-2^2))#

Our first element is as simplified as can be, so we can remove the parentheses. The second element needs some work, so we'll start with that.

#color(green)(8)color(purple)((-2^2))#

Inside the parentheses, we don't have any subsets of parentheses, so we'll skip straight down to exponents. The square of any negative number is positive, which includes this scenario:

#-2^2=4#

Replacing this in the original expression:

#color(green)(8)color(purple)((4))#

Now, when you have a number right next to a parentheses, it is the same as saying it is multiplied by the outer value:

#color(green)(8)color(purple)((4))=color(green)(8)xxcolor(purple)((4))#

Let's remove the parentheses on the 4, since it's in the simplest form, and work further down the order of PEMDAS:

#color(green)(8)xxcolor(purple)(4)#

The next step is multiplication:

#color(green)(8)xxcolor(purple)(4)=32#

Now, we're at our simplest form since there are no more operations to do. The expression has been fully simplified.