Query about Question 11 from "(I'm Overwhelmed) Arithmetic Progress Quiz #1" [6700]

GRE GRE Quant Problem Solving
1

Link: https://www.gregmat.com/quizzes/quiz/im-overwhelmed-arithmetic-progress-quiz-1 (Question 11)

for the answers: “A negative number raised to a positive power” and “A negative number raised to a negative power” how are we supposed to assume the number would be in parentheses? My assumption was that it was -4^2, not (-4)^2

2

-4^2 is technically not a “negative number raised to a positive power,” right? It’s more like the “additive inverse” (negated) version of a positive number raised to a positive power.