How do you evaluate #-| ( - 8) + 5| - 3#?

1 Answer
Jun 15, 2017

#-6#

Explanation:

Remove the parenthesis and evaluate the absolute value:

#=-|-8+5|-3#

#=-|-3|-3#

The absolute value represents the distance between a number and zero. So #|-3|# is simply saying the distance between #-3# and #0#. Additionally, distance is always expressed as a positive quantity so the #|3|# and #|-3|# is #3# regardless of whether or not it has a negative sign.

We now have the following expression

#=-(3)-3#

The negative is applied to the #3# resulting in:

#=-3-3#

#=-6#