does 2=-2?

I was thinking recently and got stuck on a strange problem:

$(-2)^{2}=4=(-2)^{0.5\times4}=((-2)^{0.5})^{4}=4=\sqrt{2}^{4}$

Take the fourth route if both sides:

$(-2)^{0.5}=\sqrt{2}$

$\sqrt{-2}=\sqrt{2}$

$-2=2$

I don't know what the problem is: have I made a mistake? Or is their a way of explaining this that I am not aware of? Please leave a comment if you have any ideas!

#Indices #Confusing #Squaroot #Mathsisstrange

Easy Math Editor

This discussion board is a place to discuss our Daily Challenges and the math and science related to those challenges. Explanations are more than just a solution — they should explain the steps and thinking strategies that you used to obtain the solution. Comments should further the discussion of math and science.

When posting on Brilliant:

Use the emojis to react to an explanation, whether you're congratulating a job well done , or just really confused .
Ask specific questions about the challenge or the steps in somebody's explanation. Well-posed questions can add a lot to the discussion, but posting "I don't understand!" doesn't help anyone.
Try to contribute something new to the discussion, whether it is an extension, generalization or other idea related to the challenge.
Stay on topic — we're all here to learn more about math and science, not to hear about your favorite get-rich-quick scheme or current world events.

Markdown	Appears as
`italics` or `_italics_`	italics
`bold` or `__bold__`	bold
- bulleted - list	bulleted list
1. numbered 2. list	numbered list
Note: you must add a full line of space before and after lists for them to show up correctly
paragraph 1 paragraph 2	paragraph 1 paragraph 2
`[example link](https://brilliant.org)`	example link
`> This is a quote`	This is a quote
# I indented these lines # 4 spaces, and now they show # up as a code block. print "hello world"	# I indented these lines # 4 spaces, and now they show # up as a code block. print "hello world"

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `$` ... `$` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$

Comments

$4=x^{4}$ has $4$ solutions for $x$ . They are like roots for polynomials. These roots are $\pm\sqrt{2}$ and $\pm\sqrt{-2}$ .

btw I edited the Latex of your note.

Julian Poon - 6 years, 2 months ago

Thank! I still won't pretend I undestand how that rule accounts for the other possible answers to that (i.e. Wouldn't that mean there were 4 answers to root-2, one of which being root 2?). But thanks that's really interesting-and thanks for the editing I'm really bad at that kind of thing!

Katie Marsden - 6 years, 2 months ago

I'll give a simpler example: $x^{2} = 4$ would have 2 solutions for $x$ , namely $-2$ and $2$ . Even though $(-2)^{2}=4$ and $(2)^{2}=4$ , $-2\neq 2$

Julian Poon - 6 years, 2 months ago

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `\(` ... `\)` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$