absolute value and equations

Question

A)What is the absolute value for the difference between -5 and 6?

 

B)Using subtraction, write an equation that shows how to find the difference between -5 and 6

Answer 1

The absolute value of number is always positive.  So if you have a negative number, the absolute value of that number will always be positive.

 

a) | -5 - 6 | = | -11 | = 11

 

b) | 6 - (-5) | = | 6 + 5 | = | 11 | = 11

 

 

Note: - (-5) = + 5