Answer:
order of operations
Step-by-step explanation:
You want to know why -4² = -16 and (-4)² =16.
Order of operations
The calculator properly applied the order of operations to -4². In evaluating, this expression, the exponentiation operation is performed first. That means this is evaluated as ...
-4² = -(4×4) = -16
When the parentheses include the minus sign, as in the second expression, the squaring operation is applied to -4, not to 4:
(-4)² = (-4)×(-4) = 16
