Originally Posted By: thefalliblefiend
It's not 3ft^2. Its (3ft)^2 =3ft * 3 ft = 9 ft^2.


Originally Posted By: paul

did you even try the calculator out to see what it says?


It doesn't help to type into a calculator, if you don't type in the right thing. I get my students to solve problems without the calculator.

Originally Posted By: paul

when you remove notation from a number by squaring it you remove the ^ notation symbol

just like .8000 -3

with the notation removed = 800.0
notice there's no trailing - notation

Do you understand what that "trailing notation" means?
It's called "engineering notation." Not every calculator types it out exactly the same way.

.8000 -3 means .8000 times 10^-3

Some calculators will right it as .8000E-3
No kidding. Check the manual with your calculator.

Originally Posted By: paul

so 2^2 without notation = 4
thats why a 2 becomes 4 when you square it.


No, 4 is not 2^2 without notation. It's got nothing to do with the representation on a calculator. It's that 2^2 MEANS 2 times 2, or 2*2.


Originally Posted By: paul

put a 2 in it , then square the 2
it will say 4 because the 2 is now squared !!!
2 x 2 = 4
a number that is squared is that number multiplied by itself.

Okay, all that stuff is correct. Over the course of my life I've computed squares thousands of times and used many different kinds of calculators (and have programmed them).