Question

How do you solve `|x | = 6`?

Answer 1

`x` can be `6` or `-6`.

Explanation:

The absolute value of a number is the measurement of the distance from zero to that number on the number line. Note that the direction (negative or positive) is not taken into account, simply the distance.

Examples:

`abs(-30) = 30`

`abs(100) = 100`

Yes, all absolute values are positive, even if the number inside the actual absolute values is negative. A simple 'formula', if you will:

`abs(+-a) = a`

Moving on to your question:

`abs(x) = 6`

`x` can be negative or positive, since all absolute value answers are positive. We can write this as `x = +- 6`.