SOLUTION: College algebra help? Show that {{{ a <= abs(a) }}}? I thought that maybe I could show that {{{ a - abs(a) <= 0 }}} but I don't even know how to start. Thanks in advance if you

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Question 660689: College algebra help? Show that ?
I thought that maybe I could show that but I don't even know how to start. Thanks in advance if you can help :-)
Found 2 solutions by jim_thompson5910, math-vortex:
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
if

So if , then



becomes



which is certainly true.

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if

So if , then



becomes



which is also true (since 'a' is negative, '-a' is positive)
==================================================================

These two cases exhaust all possibilities

So this proves that is always true for any value of 'a'.

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Answer by math-vortex(648)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Hi, there--

You could start by dividing your proof into three cases:
a is negative (i.e. a<0).
a is positive (i.e a>0).
a is zero (i.e. a=0). This is the easy one (o:

Show what the absolute value function does to a in each case. Start there and see how far you 
get. You may email me directly if you have more questions, or repost here.

Then again, another tutor might post the whole proof for you (o:

Mrs. Figgy
math.in.the.vortex@gmail.com


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