📚 Absolute Value & Additive Inverse
Absolute Value
|x| = the distance a number is from 0 on the number line
Distance is never negative, so absolute value is always 0 or positive.
1
Find how far the number is from 0.
|−6| → 6 is 6 spaces from 0 → |−6| = 6
2
Positive numbers stay the same inside absolute value bars.
|9| = 9
3
A negative sign
outside the bars stays after you simplify.
−|−6| → −(6) = −6
Additive Inverse
The additive inverse (opposite) of a number is the value that makes it add up to zero.
1
Flip the sign of the number.
Additive inverse of 8 → −8
2
A negative number's inverse is positive.
Additive inverse of −5 → 5
3
Check yourself: a number plus its inverse always equals 0.
8 + (−8) = 0
