lesson
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If you take 5 steps forward, you walk 5 steps. What if you take 5 steps backward? You still walked 5 steps — because distance cannot be negative.
In math, this distance from zero is called absolute value.
Distance on a Number Line
The absolute value of a number is simply how far that number is from zero on a number line, written between two vertical bars like ∣−4∣.
📊Interactive diagram
Notice how both 4 and −4 are exactly 4 units away from 0. That means ∣4∣=4 and ∣−4∣=4.
How do we find the absolute value of zero itself?
Zero and Decimals
Since 0 sits right on zero, its distance from zero is 0 units, so ∣0∣=0.
The same rule applies to fractions and decimals: to evaluate ∣−3.5∣, just count the distance from 0 to −3.5, which is 3.5 units.
📊Interactive diagram
Why do some students get confused by positive numbers inside the bars?