Absolute value

Numbers: Negative numbers

Absolute value

We have now seen positive and negative numbers, and we also know how to perform calculations with them. In some cases, we only want to consider positive numbers. To do so, we use the absolute value.

Absolute value

The absolute value of $\green5$ equals $\green5$ and the absolute value of $\blue{-5}$ also equals $\green{5}$ .

We write this as $\abs{\green5}=\abs{\blue{-5}}=\green5$ . The vertical bars represent the absolute value.

In general, the absolute value of a number is equal to:

$\begin{cases} \phantom{x} \text{its opposite} & \mbox{ if } \text{the number is negative } \\ \phantom{x} \text{the number itself} & \mbox{ if } \text{the number is non-negative} \end{cases}$

Examples

$\begin{array}{rcl}\abs{-65}&=& 65 \\ \\ \abs{89}&=&89 \\ \\ \abs{12-19}&=&\abs{-7}\\&=&7 \end{array}$

Always non-negative

Note that the absolute value is always non-negative.

What is the absolute value of $2$ ?

$\abs{2}=$ $2$

The absolute value of a number is equal to:

$\begin{cases} \phantom{x} \text{its opposite} & \mbox{ if } \text{the number is negative } \\ \phantom{x} \text{the number itself} & \mbox{ if } \text{the number is non-negative} \end{cases}$
In this case, the number is non-negative. Therefore, $\abs{2}=2$ .

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