How do you solve |x+5|=42

Question

How do you solve the equation 

 

|x+5|=42

Answer 1

Destiny,

The thing about absolute values is that there are generally two solutions.

Keep in mind that the definition of absolute value is "distance from zero."

So whether you are at positive 6 or negative 6, your distance from zero is just 6.

 

consider |x| = 6   

x = 6  or  x = -6

 

So for your problem, |x+5| = 42

 

We could have x + 5 = 42     or      x + 5 = -42   we must solve both.

 

                            x = 37     or      x = -47

 

If you plug them back into the original equation, you'll find they both work.

Hope that helps.