>>>-2**2
>>>
>>>what the answer... I lost my bet with my secondary schoolgirl daughter... :(
>>
>>There are some implied parenthesis in the expression and the result depends on where they are.
>>
>>Does the expression mean -(2**2) or (-2)**2?
>
>Implied parenthesis? I didn't know there were any. I thought in the absence of parenthesis the rules of precedence and right or left associativity apply.

You are correct.