document.write( "Question 326348: What is the importance of knowing absolute values? Thanks to those man who can answer this! \n" ); document.write( "

Algebra.Com's Answer #233622 by J2R2R(94) $\"\"$ $\"About$

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What is the importance of knowing absolute values? Thanks to those man who can answer this!\r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "The importance of absolute values is it is the size or magnitude of the value. The sign (+ or -) bears no significance to the magnitude but is to do with the direction, so where direction doesn’t matter you are more concerned with the magnitude.\r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Let us take income and spending. Income is positive because it adds to your account whereas spending is negative as it takes away from your account.\r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "You were given $500 and spent $200 followed by $125 and $85. You know the income and spending amounts, so the size is all that matters at this stage. However to calculate the balance the signs will come in. $(500-200-125-85) = $90. So you were given $500 and spent $410.\r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "You don’t think of the $410 being -$410 when talking about spending. NB If you said you had spent -$410 that is the equivalent of being given $410 since minus times minus is plus which is a gain and not a loss. A negative spend is a gain.\r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "There are more significant uses for absolute values when using maths at higher levels. A scalar has magnitude but no direction whereas a vector has both magnitude and directions. \n" ); document.write( "

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