I'm confused, a negative number with an exponent
(exponentiation), will first have the exponent evaluated, and
then have the opposite applied, ie. -2^2 = -4 However, if the
negative number is enclosed with parentheses, (-2)^2, that
indicates (-2) x (-2) = 4 So my question, when finding points
for graphing a parabola, it appears from the examples I have
studied that any negative values for x^2 always come out
positive when evaluated in the quadratic equation, but there are
no parentheses enclosing that value. f(x) = ax^2 + bx + c f(-2)
= -2^2 + 4(-2) + 3 = -9, but all the examples that I study would
evaluate this as f(-2) = (-2)^2 + 4(-2) + 3 = -1. But the
parentheses are not shown, what rule or concept am I missing?
Thanks in advance.