How do you simplify #-|-33|#?

1 Answer

Keep in mind that the absolute value brackets only affect the value inside of them - it has no effect on what happens outside of them.

Explanation:

The value within an absolute value bracket is forced to be positive.

Start with #-|-33|#

The value inside the absolute value brackets is #-33# but the action of the absolute value is to make the value positive:

#-|33|#

We can now remove the absolute value - we've made the value positive. When we remove the brackets in this question, there is a negative sign outside of the brackets:

#-33#

And this is the final answer. The absolute value brackets only ensure that the value inside of them is positive - it doesn't affect what happens outside of the brackets.