Really silly question but didnt know where else to ask. I am looking back at some basic definite integration stuff and have stumped myself at the most basic of things (I have a knack for doing this kind of thing to myself). Lets say I am met with -x^2 and x is +2.Following bodmas, do I treat the minus as part of the number and square it to get a positive result or treat the minus sign as a multiplication of negative 1 and hence proceed to square first, resulting in a negative answer...?
upon further research I have found out from wikipedia that there isn't a standard for this...within the context of an integration question I would get 2 different answers, hence the confusion. Ive never really given this any thought in the past. I appreciate any responses.