How do you evaluate #|( + 7) + ( - 2) + ( + 5) + ( - 8) |#?

1 Answer
Scott F.
Mar 26, 2017

2

Explanation:

Ian E. was close to the mark, but the description was a bit misleading and the math was off.

You first treat the absolute value bars as parentheses and evaluate the expression inside

#|("+"7)+("-"2)+("+"5)+("-"8)|=|7-2+5-8|=|2|=2#

If the expression inside had in fact resolved to #"-"2#, for example if the problem were instead #|"-"7+2-5+8|=|"-"2|# then the answer would still be #2# because of the absolute value.

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