I'm sure this creates a mess for the school. Undoubtedly lots of the kids here are taking off, too, so I doubt they can just have them come in on Monday to finish finals. Presumably the first day back in January will be a re-do of today. So 2nd semester class schedules don't start until the day after, report cards won't go out on time, and who knows what else. No wonder they waited as long as they could before calling it off.

None of this seems to be bothering Emily. When I woke her up half an hour ago to tell her there is no school she blinked her eyes open, absorbed the information, smiled, and went back to sleep. Kid can sleep through anything.

Thing One, meanwhile, is a few days into a 5 week break between semesters. She has already hit her no-school stride, i.e. staying up half the night and sleeping half the day like a vampire. Her boyfriend, who is also on college break, showed up here at 11 last night. They sent out for pizza and started flipping through the DVD collection. I went to bed ;-)

>I saw the forecast on WGN last night. Well, at least she gets an early start to her christmas vacation! At Haley's school, so many kids have left to go away for christmas break that there were only 4 kids in her class yesterday. This is a strange time of year for her because she attends highschool in the morning and the local college in the afternoon and the college classes ended last week so her afternnoons are free. The 1st semester of the highschool doesn't end until 1-22-09.
>
>You know I watched Ghost Hunters and it was winter and the roads were slick and there was snow everywhere which reminded me why I love living in the south during the winter months :o) The snow is absolutely beautiful but not fun to drive in or pay heating bills for! :o)
>
>
>
>>-2 is also 5-7 ;-) So what? The issue remains the same: whether the minus sign at the beginning is part of the number -2 or a unary operator. And it seems like that is the question dividing we great debaters ;-)
>>
>>It's a snow day here. Based on all the forecasts that isn't a surprise. It's the same storm system that socked the southwest and is working its way northeast. It is hitting Chicago head on, with more snow in the northern suburbs where I am and more ice further south. Emily's high school was one of the last to announce cancellation. It was supposed to be the last day of finals and of the semester, so you know they didn't want to do this. But no controlling the weather....
>>
>>>You might not, but -2 is indeed 0-2. Negative 2 is zero minus 2 and that written out is indeed 0-2. I've seen some try it as -1*2. Even as -1*2^2 exponentiation goes before multiplication. It is unary negation.
>>>
>>>However, one of my daughter's books: University of Chicago School Mathematics Project's Advanced Algebra, has this (not PEMDAS):
>>>
>>>1. Do operations withing grouping symbols from inner to outer. Grouping symbols include parentheses, brackets, fraction bar, absolute value symbol, and the square root symbol (the bar in the square root symbol is the grouping symbol).
>>>
>>>2. Do unary operation of positive integer exponents, upper right to lower left, when towered.
>>>
>>>3. Do unary operation of additive inverses.
>>>
>>>4. Do operations of multiplication and division, left to right.
>>>
>>>5. Do operations of addition and subtraction, left to right.
>>>
>>>Now THAT is quite different from what was taught when I was in high school, and it does NOT match her SAT books. Hopefully that won't open up another can of worms! :o)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>I don't "write out" -2 as 0-2. I write it out as -2, i.e. minus 2.
>>>>
>>>>>Except that -2 written out is 0-2 then it becomes 0-2^2
>>>>>
>>>>>>You're making the exact same argument Tracy did so I'm not sure what this was intended to add. IMO changing expressions and adding terms and parenthesis is 3 card monte.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>As far as I can tell it all comes down to whether you believe the minus sign at the beginning is an independent operator or part of the number negative 2. I believe, as Dave F. does, that the latter is the case.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>But by the same token, when you insist that -2^2 is 4, you are putting virtual parens around -2, so (-2)^2. That's why the rules exist - so that we all do the same things. Without the parens, from everything I've read, -2 represents -1*2, so the equation becomes -1*2^2 and pedmas then applies with exponentiation taking precedence over multiplication.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Does PEMDAS really say to change -2 to 0-2, then make the 0 a term by itself and combine the 2 with the power of 2?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Put another way, the parenthesis were not there; you put them there.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>Using PEMDAS:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>-2^2 = 0-2^2 = 0-(2^2) = 0 - (4) = -4
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>???
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>:o)
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Tracy,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>If you can provide a cogent argument to this I'll hop down off my soapbox of stubborness and admit defeat. *g*
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Math is full of opposites, yin and yang if you like.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>addition ... subtraction
>>>>>>>>>>multiplication ... division
>>>>>>>>>>positive ... negative
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>In the beginning man only had a concept for positive numbers... Og the cave man could "count" that he had one wood club, three children and seven eggs to eat for breakfast. And thus began math. He could gather more eggs and so addition became understandable. He could take away some of the eggs from the basket to eat and so subtraction became understandable. Division followed soon after as a means of splitting up the eggs among the family at breakfast. Multiplication is a little more abstract because that's more something in the future.. how many eggs do I need to feed my family for the next week? But Og being a good provider ultimately grokked multiplication... But negative numbers? How absurd! How can you take away more eggs than you have? It's just not possible. Democratic politicians come along much later and freely invent negative money to solve all sorts of problems. (sorry I couldn't resist the urge)
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Sometime later mathematicians evolve and they concieve that there is a number line that doesn't just look like:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>0 .. 1 .. 2 .. 3 .. 4 .. infinity
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>but that there is a side opposite 0 so the number line is redrawn
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>infinity .. 4 .. 3 .. 2 .. 1 .. 0 .. 1 .. 2 .. 3 .. 4 .. infinity
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>But the numbers on the left of 0 need to distinguished somehow from those on the right of 0.. so positive and negative signed numbers are concieved
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>-infinity .. -4 .. -3 .. -2 .. -1 .. 0 .. +1 .. +2 .. +3 .. +4 .. +infinity
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>But we'd been writing plain old 2 for so long and people didn't want to go through all the extra work to carve + symbols into all those stone tablets so they decided as a shorthand that when we write just a 2 that we really mean +2.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Now back to math on the UT in 2008
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>The mathematical expression:
>>>>>>>>>>

2

>>>>>>>>>>means the positive number 2
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>The mathematical expression:
>>>>>>>>>>

+2

>>>>>>>>>>also means the positive number 2
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>The mathematical expression:
>>>>>>>>>>

-2

>>>>>>>>>>means the negative number 2 ... it does NOT mean negate the positive number 2.. that is an equivalent mathematical operation but it's not the definition.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>The mathematical expression:
>>>>>>>>>>

2^2

>>>>>>>>>>means the positive number 2 times itself
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>The mathematical expression:
>>>>>>>>>>

+2^2

>>>>>>>>>>means the positive number 2 times itself
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>The mathematical expression:
>>>>>>>>>>

-2^2

>>>>>>>>>>means the negative number 2 times itself ... to interpret this in any other way violates the most basic concepts of mathematics.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>The opposite of negation isn't "positation" it's absolute value and they chose the much less ambiguous symbology of |x| for this operation.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>I'm not talking about programming languages at all.. In fact a lot of parsers fail when trying to read valid math expressions.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>Dr Math is a forum hosted by Drexel University but has participants from all over the U.S..
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>So forget Dr Math. Your interpretation is the common programming language one, not mathematics. In mathematics, if there are no parenthesis to specify, exponentiation takes precedence over unary. That is from the math books, not any programming language.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>-2^2 written is by order of precedence:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>-(2^2) = -4 *mathematics
>>>>>>>>>>>or
>>>>>>>>>>>(-2) ^2 = 4 *some programming languages which matches your interpretation
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>I still stand by -2^2 = -(2^2) = -4 by the mathematics order of precendence because no parenthesis were used to specify otherwise. Your interpretation is incorrect.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>So be it. I am as stubborn as you until some reliable mathematics source contradicts my mathematics books I have here. :o) It is the same in my daugther's study guides for the SAT as well.