Not quite sure what you mean by brackets, but you can get the solution to this equation in a few steps:
<span>(-2x - 1)</span>² <span>= 0 ... square root both sides to eliminate the squared binomial </span>√(-2x - 1)² = √0 ... simplify; the square is canceled out and the root of 0 brings you back to 0 -2x - 1 = 0 ... solve like a two-step equation -2x = 1 x = -1/2 is your x-value.