document.write( "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! \n" ); document.write( "

Algebra.Com's Answer #192602 by jim_thompson5910(35256) $\"\"$ $\"About$

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Those lines are absolute value bars. Simply think of them as parenthesis (just don't erase them or distribute). With $\"abs%287-4%29\"$ , you simply look at $\"7-4\"$ and subtract to get $\"3\"$ . So $\"abs%287-4%29=abs%283%29\"$ . \r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "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, $\"abs%283%29=3\"$ . Another example is $\"abs%28-3%29=3\"$ \r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "So $\"abs%287-4%29=3\"$ \r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "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. \n" ); document.write( "

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