i stink at math.

Math. Love it or hate it. I, for one, happen to HATE it. From the very pit of my soul. ah.
So this is sorta embarrassing for me but i am gonna just swallow my pride and get on with it.
I was doing this problem for literally 1 hour. ONE HOUR!


-5(-7+3*6-4)^2 {the little "^2" means "squared"}
looks easy enough, right? WRONG.
well here were my steps.
do do doo... (ps i will put my thoughts on the side)
-5(-7+3*6-4)^2  great. sydney, you CAN do this. *breathe*
-5(-7+18-4)^2 okay one step down...
-5(11-4)^2 wow this is easier then it looks. hmm
-5(7)^2 almost done, see sydney, you can do it.
-35^2 almosttttttt thereeeeee
1,225. *looks at answer* *WRONG* ahhhhh what did i do wrong?!?!
okay let's try it again.


this time i'll double check EVERY thing with a calculator.
-5(-7+3*6-4)^2 *checks to make sure 3*6 really does =18*
-5(-7+18-4)^2 it does. *checks to make sure -7+18=11*
-5(11-4)^2 it does. *checks to make sure 11-4 really is 7*
-5(7)^2 thats correct. where am i going wrong??
-35^2
1,225. still.the.same.darn.answer. argh.


well i'm trying it again. this time a bit different.


-5(-7+3*6-4)^2
-5(-7+18-4)^2
-5(11-4)^2
-5(7)^2
-5(14)
-70. not.even.close.


(can anyone see my mistake yet?)


well apparently 7^2 does NOT =14.
7^2 equals 49. ahhhhhhhhhh the ONLY one i did not check because i was soo sure of my math skillz.


and now it checks out.
-5(-7+3*6-4)^2
-5(-7+18-4)^2
-5(11-4)^2
-5(7)^2
-5(49)
-245


yeah, i stink at math. poor me.


thanks for reading.
~Sydney