SOLUTION: What do the lines outside of the equation mean? Ex: |7-4|=3 or something like that. i have a math exam tomorrow and i need help! Also, when I see this question "2+2 or -2+2"? these

Question 261430: What do the lines outside of the equation mean? Ex: |7-4|=3 or something like that. i have a math exam tomorrow and i need help! Also, when I see this question "2+2 or -2+2"? these are just examples. thanks so much!
Found 2 solutions by jim_thompson5910, stanbon:
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Those lines are absolute value bars. Simply think of them as parenthesis (just don't erase them or distribute). With , you simply look at and subtract to get . So .

Now here's a very critical thing to remember: the absolute value of any number is ALWAYS positive. Think of it as the distance from that number to zero on the number line. So in our case, . Another example is

So

As for the second part, I'm not sure of what you're asking. You just want to add 2+2 right? If so, then 2+2=4. In addition -2+2=0 since we can rearrange the terms to get 2-2=0.
Answer by stanbon(75887) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
What do the lines outside of the equation mean? Ex: |7-4|=3 or something like that.
---
That's "absolute value of 7-3".
Evaluate the numbers inside the lines.
Then ignore the sign.
---
Ex: |-3-7| = |-10| = 10
|7-2| = |5| = 5
=========================

i have a math exam tomorrow and i need help!
Also, when I see this question "2+2 or -2+2"? these are just examples.
2+2 will always be 4
-2+2 will always be 0
==========================
Cheers,
Stan H.
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