Getting started 39
Algebraic
precedence
The HP Prime calculates according to the following order
of precedence. Functions at the same level of precedence
are evaluated in order from left to right.
1. Expressions within parentheses. Nested parentheses
are evaluated from inner to outer.
2. !, √, reciprocal, square
3. n
th
root
4. Power, 10
n
5. Negation, multiplication, division, and modulo
6. Addition and subtraction
7. Relational operators (<, >, ≤, ≥, ==, ≠, =)
8. AND and NOT
9. OR and XOR
10.Left argument of | (where)
11. Assign to variable (:=)
Negative
numbers
It is best to press Q to start a negative number or to insert
a negative sign. Pressing w instead will, in some
situations, be interpreted as an operation to subtract the
next number you enter from the last result. (This is
explained in “To reuse the last result” on page 41.)
To raise a negative number to a power, enclose it in
parentheses. For example, (–5)
2
= 25, whereas –5
2
= –25.
Explicit and
implied
multiplication
Implied multiplication takes place when two operands
appear with no operator between them. If you enter AB,
for example, the result is A*B. Notice in the example on
page 38 that we entered 14
Sk8 without the
multiplication operator after 14. For the sake of clarity, the
calculator adds the operator to the expression in history,
but it is not strictly necessary when you are entering the
expression. You can, though, enter the operator if you
wish (as was done in the examples on page 38). The
result will be the same.