The x is squared to convert any negative x to a positive value.
The negative is applied so that the power will be smaller for increasing x.
The exponent has *x so that if x is zero, the exponent is zero, and the power works out to one.
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Anonymous2006-11-11 15:44
er, I just figured out that my last comment above about *x shouldn't be that *x makes the exponent zero when x is zero, because it would be zero anyway. What it does do is ensure the value of the function decreases for increasing x, regardless if x is negative or not.