So I am trying to understand this formula.
I get that 7 squared is 7 * 7 = 49;
However the () scares me, I get that there are rules for what to do first but they always confuse me.
How does (-2) squared become 4 I know that two of - becomes a + somehow, could someone write out the simple formula for (-2) becoming 4
The parentheses mean do this first, so you negate the $2$ before squaring. We have $$(-2)^2=(-2)\cdot (-2)=4$$