Forrest C.

asked • 09/06/14

How do you graph f(x) = lxl - x

Question concerns the shifting of graphs (I think). I know if the - x was simply a number, say 2 for example, you would simply shift the graph of f(x) = lxl down by 2 units. I don't know how to graph it without knowing how many units to shift the graph. What am I missing?

1 Expert Answer

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Phillip R. answered • 09/06/14

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Forrest C.

"When x is a negative number, lxl will be positive but x will be negative and we get l2xl"
How do you get l2xl from this?
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09/06/14

Phillip R.

When we subtract a negative number, of course we get a positive. So -x has a value of absolute value of x, making it positive. If we just said -(-x) = x then the expression would have a negative value because we are now considering only negative values for x. And so we add the absolute value notation. Literally, the value is 2x but again if we are considering only negative values of x, 2x woold be negative which it's not. Remember, absolute value of x = -x whenever x is a negative number. It sounds wrong to say absolute value is negative but try it with an actual number, for example -3 and you'll see what I mean. 
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09/06/14

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