What’s an Absolute Value Definitions and Examples

Absolute Value Definitions, Formulas, & Examples

GET TUTORING NEAR ME!

(800) 434-2582

By submitting the following form, you agree to Club Z!'s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

    What’s an Absolute Value Definitions and Examples

    Introduction

    The absolute value of a number is the distance the number is from zero on a number line. In other words, it is the magnitude of the number without regard to its sign. So, the absolute value of 5 is 5, and the absolute value of -5 is also 5. There are a few things to note about absolute value. First, the absolute value of a number can never be negative. Second, the absolute value of a number is always positive or zero (0). Third, the absolute value of 0 is 0. And fourth, if two numbers have the same absolute values, they are called “equivalent.” Now that we know all that, let’s take a look at some examples of absolute value in action!

    Absolute Value

    The term “absolute value” refers to the magnitude of a quantity without regard to its sign. In other words, absolute value is the distance of a number from zero on a number line. The absolute value of a positive number is the number itself, and the absolute value of a negative number is its opposite. For example, the absolute value of 5 is 5, and the absolute value of -5 is also 5.

    When working with absolute value, it’s important to remember that the answer will always be positive, even if the original number was negative. This can be confusing for some students, so it’s often helpful to think ofabsolute value as the distance away from zero rather than as a positive or negative quantity.

    There are a few different ways to calculate absolute value, but one of the simplest is to use parentheses. For example, the absolute value of -3 can be written as (3). Another way to calculate absoluteValue is by using exponential notation; for instance,the absoluteValue of -5 can be written as 5|-5|=5.

    It’s also worth noting that there are certain rules that apply when working with absolute value equations. For instance, if you’re given an equation such as |x+5|=9, you can solve it by adding 5 to each side and then taking the square root of both sides; this would give you x=2 or x=-4 as solutions.

    What is Absolute Value?

    The absolute value of a number is the number’s distance from zero on a number line. In other words, it is the magnitude of the number without regard to its sign.

    So, the absolute value of 5 is 5, and the absolute value of -5 is also 5.

    The absolute value of a number can be thought of as the distance between that number and zero on a number line. No matter which way you travel on a number line, when you get to zero you’ve traveled the same distance as the absolute value of your original starting point.

    Here are some examples:

    The absolute value of 3 is 3 since it is three units away from zero on a number line. The absolute value of -3 is also 3 since it is also three units away from zero on the same number line (just traveling in the opposite direction). The absolute value of 0 is 0 since it is exactly at zero on a number line.

    Absolute Value Definition

    In mathematics, the absolute value or modulus of a real number x, denoted |x|, is the non-negative value of x without regard to its sign. That is, |x| = x if x is positive, and |x| = ?x if x is negative (in which case ?x is positive). For example, the absolute value of 3 is 3, and the absolute value of ?3 is also 3. The absolute value of a number may be thought of as its distance from zero.

    Absolute Value Sign

    An absolute value is a numerical value that is always positive. It represents the magnitude of a quantity regardless of its sign. For example, the absolute value of -5 is 5, and the absolute value of 3 is 3. The absolute value sign is represented by two vertical lines (||).

    Absolute Value of 0

    The absolute value of 0 is 0. This means that the distance from 0 on a number line is 0. The absolute value of a number is always positive, so the absolute value of 0 is also 0.

    Absolute Value Function

    An absolute value function is a function that assigns a positive value to every real number. The absolute value of a number is its distance from zero on a number line. For example, the absolute value of -5 is 5, because it is 5 units away from zero. The absolute value of 5 is also 5.

    The graph of an absolute value function looks like this:

    The equation for an absolute value function is |x| = y. This means that the absolute value of x (the distance from x to 0 on the number line) is equal to y (the distance from y to 0 on the graph).

    To find the absolute value of a real number, we can use the following steps:

    1) Find the number on a number line.
    2) Count the units (or steps) between that number and zero.
    3) If the number is negative, count the steps as negative; if the number is positive, count the steps as positive.

    Absolute Value Examples

    There are many absolute value examples in mathematics and in real-world situations.

    In mathematics, the absolute value of a number is the distance of that number from zero on a number line. The absolute value of a positive number is the same as the positive number, and the absolute value of a negative number is the same as the positive version of that number. So, the absolute value of 5 is 5, and the absolute value of -5 is also 5.

    In real-world situations, absolute value can be used to find out how far away something is from a given point. For example, if you’re trying to find out how far away your car is from an intersection, you would take the absolute value of your car’s position (measured in feet or meters) from the position of the intersection.

    Conclusion

    In mathematics, the absolute value |x| of a real number x is the non-negative value of x without regard to its sign. So, for example, the absolute value of 3 is 3, and the absolute value of ?3 is also 3. The absolute value of a number may be thought of as its distance from zero. For instance, the distance between 0 and +1 on a number line is 1 (since 1 unit separates them), so we say that the absolute value of +1 is 1; similarly, since ?1 lies 1 unit away from 0 on a number line in the other direction, we have |?1|=1 .


    What's an Absolute Value

    Illustration

    Illustration

    Basic definition

    The absolute value of a number is the distance of the number from the origin.

    Detailed definition

    The absolute value of a real number x is denoted left bracketing bar x right bracketing bar and defined as the =0, auto right match where sgn(x) is the sign function. The absolute value is therefore always greater than or equal to 0. The absolute value of x for real x is plotted above. The absolute value of a complex number z = x + i y, also called the complex modulus, is defined as left bracketing bar z right bracketing bar congruent sqrt(x^2 + y^2)." style="margin-top: 7px;" />

    Related Wolfram Language symbol

    Abs

    Educational grade level

    middle school level (California grade 7 standard)

    Find the right fit or it’s free.

    We guarantee you’ll find the right tutor, or we’ll cover the first hour of your lesson.