When I square a negative number (eg -2^2) it gives me a negative answer (-4) why isn't it giving me a positive answer?

The calculator is giving the correct result FOR THE PROBLEM YOU GAVE IT, not for the problem you meant to give it.

When you told it to calculate negative two to the second power, it calculates two to the second power, giving 4, then negates it, giving -4.

If you want to calculate the square of negative two, use parenthesis to tell the calculator that you want the negative to apply to the two and not to the result of the squaring.

It's giving you the correct answer. It's calculating the negative of 25 squared. 25 squared is 625, and the negative of that is -625.

If you want to calculate the square of negative 25, you need to tell the calculator that.

Press ( (-) 2 5 ) ^ 2 ENTER .

You must enclose the negative number between parentheses. (-15)^2 will give 225 because it is the whole content of the parentheses that is squared. However if you write -15^2 the result is -225.Check the key stokes.

Actually, you're negating a square, not squaring a negative. When you put in -x^2, it's getting calculated as -(x^2). In order to square a negative number, use parentheses and calculate it as (-x)^2.

Also, make sure you're using the +- key to the right of th decimal point instead of the - key when entering the negative number.

If you want to square a negative number, you should enclose it in parentheses then raise it to the 2nd power.
-5^2 =-25 .Priority to squaring ahead of negating
(-5)^2=25 .Priority to parentheses before squaring

Enclose any negative number between parentheses before squaring.
If you enter -4^2, where - is the negation, the result will be -16 because of the priority rules: exponentiation (power) has priority over negation.
If you enter (-4)^2 the result will be 16, because parentheses have priority over the squaring: the 4 is negated then the result is squared.

Hello,
You are not using the right syntax. It has to do with priority of operations. raising a number to a power has priority over the negation sign (the change sign key). Th operations you are performing are treated as follows.
1. The square of 2 is calculated first (4),
2. then the negation (change sign) is performed, giving -4.

To get what you intend, namely the square of a negative number, you should enter the calculation as follows.
(-2)^2.
Since the parentheses have priority over everything else, the negation of 2 is calculated first, giving -2, then the power is performed next, and the result should be 4

If you need convincing, here is a screen capture.



Hope it helps.

Place both the base and the exponent in parentheses

(3/4)^(-2) then press enter. Your answer will be in decimal form at first 1.777...

Press MATH
Select the 1: Fraction option and it will convert your decimal value to the fraction answer of 16/9.

Negative exponents flip the fraction. For instance, (3/4)^(-1) = 4/3. So for (3/4)^(-2) you could just square the numerator and denominator separately to get 9/16, and then flip the fraction to account for the negative. That will give you 16/9.

If you want the answer in rectangular form, set MODE a+bi and tap ENTER and QUIT. Tap square root sign, tap (-)4 and close the parenthesis and tap ENTER. The answer is shown as 2i.
If you want the answer in polar form, set MODE to re^xi and and DEGREE. Tap ENTER and QUIT. Tap the square root sign, tap (-)4, close the parenthesis, and tap ENTER. The answer shown is 2e^90i. (2 at ninety degrees). If you selected RADIAN mode, the answer would be 2e^1.57i (2 at 1.57 radians; or 2 at pi/2 radians)

Your calculator will square a number before it applies the negative sign, so what you're actually doing is squaring 2, then applying the - sign to your answer. You need to put the -2 in parenthesis, so (-2)^2. That will give you 4. Hope this helps!