>>>-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.

Oh yes, there are. They are defined by the rules of precedence and right or left associativity - as you put it

It's like converting an expression to a fully parenthesized expression.
The ones that were added in the fully parenthesized expression were 'implied' - wouldn't you agree ?