How to interpret $\Delta t^2$?

Question

In a formula such as,

$$x = x_0 + v_0 \Delta t + \frac{1}{2}a_0 \Delta t^2$$

should $\Delta t^2$ be understood as “the difference of the squares,” or “the square of the difference”?

(I suggest “the difference of the squares,” and “the square of the difference” be denoted as $(\Delta t)^2$. Is there anything wrong with that?

Answer 1

I suppose you write with LaTeX. I would define it as a mathoperator to automatically have a disambiguating small space between Δ and t²: