what is the distance between -3 and 6

Question

What's the difference between -3 and 6

Answer 1

The difference between -3 and 6 is equivalent to the absolute value of -3 - 6.

 

-3 - 6 = -9, and the absolute value of -9 is 9.

 

Therefore, the difference is 9.

Answer 2

Suppose we count from -3 on a number line.  How many units do we have to count to get to 6?  Well, let's see.

 

-2   -1    0   1   2   3   4   5   6

 

 

How many numbers do we have in the count?  This is your distance.