Question 838586
The negative sign outside the parentheses means you interpret it on the number which is negated.  The exponent is applied to the parenthesized expression.  The negative sign then is being applied to {{{(something)^4}}}. 


{{{-(3ab)^4}}}
{{{highlight(-(81a^4*b^4))}}}
or
{{{highlight(-81a^4b^4)}}}