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37 votes
37 votes
Describe the error. What should the answer should've been?how did they get the wrong answer?

Describe the error. What should the answer should've been?how did they get the wrong-example-1
User Michael Rut
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2.8k points

1 Answer

19 votes
19 votes

An absolute value is a distance, then, all the numbers that are absolute values are possitive, as a distance cannot be negaive:

Then,


\begin{gathered} \mleft|-x\mright|=x \\ \mleft|-8\mright|=8 \end{gathered}Then, the mistake is that the absolute value of -8 is 8 not -8The absolute value of a negative number is the number but possitive.

Describe the error. What should the answer should've been?how did they get the wrong-example-1
User Amid
by
3.2k points