Let me try this again the problem reads: X squared -3X-5 for X=-6

Question

aroub · Answer

This is your question : x^2-3x-5 and x=-6 ?

anonymous · Answer

no sorry it's x^-3x-5 and x=-6

aroub · Answer

x^-3x-5 and x=-6 

All you have to do is substitute x by -6 

=> -6^-3(-6)-5
      -6^(18)-5
      -101559956668416-5
      -101559956668421 

I think this is the way you do it. The answer is pretty long :)

aroub · Answer

No wait..

aroub · Answer

It depends on how the question is if it's like this : x^(-3x)-5 then the answer is  -101559956668421  

but if it was like this : x^(-3x-5) 
 
=> -6^(-3(-6)-5) 
       -13060694016

phi · Answer

@dion  Is this multiple choice?  If so, can you post the choices?

I am guessing that the problem really is
x^2  - 3x -5, evaluated at x=-6 .  As you see form Aroub's answers, for problems with x^x, the answers are very large.

to figure these problems out, you need to know that x^2 means x times x, 3x means 3 times x, etc.

you replace the x with -6 in the formula:
(-6)*(-6)  - 3* (-6) -5
now it is a problem with multiplying and adding negative/positive numbers.
-6*-6= +36  (two minus signs change to 1 plus sign)
3*-6= -18
so you have +36 - -18 -5
- -18 (subtracting a negative 18) means add (change 2 minus signs to a plus)
36+18-5= 49