×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Excel Order of Operations

Excel Order of Operations

Excel Order of Operations

(OP)
I was browsing through the threads and came across a warning, and ensuing discussion (thread404-157296), on whether Excel should calculate the expression -5^2 as equal to 25 or -25. If you use the Excel function Power(number,power) then there is no ambiguity. If you want to square -5 then you would enter, =Power(-5,2). If you want to negate the square of 5, then you would enter =-power(5,2).

RE: Excel Order of Operations

I think that only applies in base 10.

RE: Excel Order of Operations

The Power method is no different from proper use of parenthesis except that it takes five additional keystrokes.  =Power(-5,2) does exactly the same thing as (-5)^2, and =-Power(5,2) does exactly the same thing as -(5^2).  That is, it forces Excel to evaluate in the order you want.   

-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)

RE: Excel Order of Operations

Quote (irontrussman):

.. on whether Excel should calculate the expression -5^2 as equal to 25 or -25
So which was it?  winky smile

Quote:

The Power method is no different from proper use of parenthesis except that it takes five additional keystrokes.
Lol.  Good point.   

=====================================
Eng-tips forums: The best place on the web for engineering discussions.

RE: Excel Order of Operations

It equals 25. -5^2 = (-5)^2 not -1 x (5^2)

And as far as operation order, if you remember your high school math class in the absence of parenthesis the equation should be computed by taking powers/squares first, then multiply/divide, and lastly add/subtract.

ISZ

RE: Excel Order of Operations

Please, let's not get into that argument here.  It was sufficiently addressed (thrashed to death) in the referenced thread.

-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)

RE: Excel Order of Operations

Any engineer using Excel for real work deserves all the ambiguities it throws at them.

As hammers go, Excel isn't a good one.

- Steve

RE: Excel Order of Operations

IceStationZebra (Mechanical) 18 Sep 08 22:49  
It equals 25. -5^2 = (-5)^2 not -1 x (5^2)

No way!  It equals -25.       -5^2 = -(5)^2 = -1 x (5^2)
Check any algebra book.

Regards

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources