(32)^½ = 9^½ = 3
and
((-3)2)^½ = 9^½ = 3
The caret (^) is the symbol of exponentiation. Raising a number to the power of ½ gives you the square root.
Also, |-3| = 3
Squaring a negative number gives you a positive number, but I used another pair of parentheses around the negative three since graphing calculators tend to multiply the square by -1 without the parentheses. That causes some confusion!
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© Derek Cumberbatch