Dec 03 2019 09:41 AM
Hello @simmo81154,
The root of a negative value is imaginary. I assume you are receiving a #NUM! error?
For example if F39=1, then your formula equates to -9879660.4144^5.2559 which is imaginary.
If you can explain your goal with this formula, I may be able to offer a valid suggestion.
P.S. Highlighting part of a formula and pressing F9 shows what that part of the formula equates to. This is perfect for trying to discover where a formula is giving an error.
Dec 03 2019 12:01 PM
Dec 03 2019 12:07 PM
I assume cell F39 is empty when you pasted the formula. If so, then the formula evaluates to:
=14.3696*(1-(6.8754*10^5*0))^5.2559
=14.3696*(1)^5.2559
=14.3696*1
=14.3696
Dec 03 2019 12:24 PM
Please use F9, Evaluate formula.
If you use -1^5.2559 it shows Error in Excel
However if you use Calculator in google, it shows -1
Have to check.
Dec 03 2019 12:25 PM
Just in case, that is interesting reading about the issue http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/62979.html
Dec 03 2019 12:34 PM
That's since in Excel (and not only) negation has higher priority compare to power. https://support.office.com/en-us/article/calculation-operators-and-precedence-in-excel-48be406d-4975....
That's a good practice not relay on default behavior but use brackets. If you assume minus for entire result it will be -(1^5.2559), with negation equivalent is (-1)^5.2559
Dec 03 2019 01:27 PM
Just to reiterate the point that @Sergei Baklan made:
Excel
If you enter "-1^5.2559" into Excel, then Excel properly treats this as:
=(-1)^5.2559.
=[(-1)^5]*[(-1)^0.2559]
=[-1]*[imaginary number]
=imaginary number
If you enter "-1^5.2559" into Google, then Google improperly treats this as:
=-(1^5.2559).
=-[(1^5)*(1^0.2559)]
=-[1*1]
=-1
Dec 03 2019 01:53 PM
Google is big and have a lot of products. If the speak about data modeling tool, Goggle Sheets returns the same result as Excel since that's more or less default behavior for such kind of tools
If we use calculator, doesn't matter from Google or Microsoft, it oriented on bit different users and automatically do some actions which data modeler performs by hands, and transforms the sequence more close to school math, like
First 0- here is done by calculator, as soon as you enter minus first. Other words it converts negation to minus.