?Why does 32=9 but (3)2=9

With respect to proof (rather than just a tautology of the mathematical statement like "it's opposite").


Part of it is the notational convention regarding precedence of operations.  When you fully parenthesize  32  you get  (32).

The other part is the rule of signs.  A negative number times a negative number is a positive number, so  (3)2  is a positive number, but of course, (32)  is a negative number.

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