Finding Absolute Values: Can someone help me with these practice questions?

In summary, the conversation discusses the concept of absolute value and provides examples and explanations for several practice questions related to it. The main points to note are that |x| is always positive, |x-y| = |y-x|, and -|x| is always negative. The conversation also addresses some specific problems and provides guidance on how to approach them. There is a minor discrepancy in the wording of one of the problems, but the main focus is on understanding the concept of absolute value and how it applies to different scenarios.
  • #1
CSmith1
39
0
Can someone check these ractice questions for me thanks.i need to understand what is being asked and how to go about this.
1.) For what values is it true that x is less than equal to |x| . 2.)For what values is it true that x=|x|?3.)|z|/-|z|,z is not equal to 0

4.)|t|/|t|, t is not equal to y

5.)|y-x|-|x-y|6.)|h| if h is negative: answer---> |-h|=h7.)|-h| if h is negative8.)|x-2| if x=29.)|x-2| if x > than 2?10)|x+6|+|x-2|if 0
 
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  • #2
Re: Absolute value

A few things to notice that might help you with these is that |x| is always positive. That doesn't change if x itself is negative or positive. Similarly |x-y| = |y-x|. Why? |y-x|=|-(x-y)|=|x-y|. Let's try it with some concrete numbers. |3-5|=|-2|=2 and |5-3|=|2|=2. If you do that with any two numbers it will work out. Lastly, -|x| is always negative. That is because |x| is always positive and a positive times negative 1 is always negative. That should help you out on 1-5 I think.

Also, 9 and 10 look to have something missing from them. What is 9 asking? Is 10 saying that x=0?
 
  • #3
Re: Absolute value

9.) |x-2| if x < (less than) 210)|x+6|+|x-2|if 0<x<1
 
  • #4
Re: Absolute value

CSmith said:
9.) |x-2| if x < (less than) 210)|x+6|+|x-2|if 0<x<1

Ok cool. Try using the info I gave you. If you're just absolutely stuck, that's ok! Pick 1-2 problems from these and we'll address them.
 
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  • #5
Re: Absolute value

Ok this is what I am getting.

1.) |h| if h is negative

= |-h| (i laced this here since they asked for h to be negative.
=h
2.)|-h| if h is negative

= h

i turned it into a positive h3.)|x-2| if x <2

i don't really get the part when they say " if c <2"


4.)|x-2| if x = 2

should i replace the x with 2

2-2=0

5.)|x-2| if x > (greater than) 2

x+2=3
 
  • #6
Re: Absolute value

CSmith said:
Ok this is what I am getting.

1.) |h| if h is negative

= |-h| (i laced this here since they asked for h to be negative.
=h

I don't understand what you did here, but here's what I got. The question is when is $h \le |h|$. When h=0 this is true. What about when h > 0? Let's pick 3. Is 3 less than or equal to? Well it is equal to, so yes that's true. In fact it's true for any positive number. What about negatives? Is -4 < |-4|? That's the same thing as -4< 4, which is true. So it's true for negatives, 0 and positives - so true for all numbers.

2.)|-h| if h is negative

= h

i turned it into a positive h

The question is when is $h=|h|$ true? When h=0, this is true. What about when h>0? Let's pick 5.
5=|5| is certainly true and it's true for all positives. What about negatives? Is -3=|-3|? No it isn't because |-3|=3. So this is true for $h \ge 0$


3.)|x-2| if x <2

i don't really get the part when they say " if c <2"

Try plugging in numbers. What do you get for x= -3? What about -4, -5, -10? Can you find a general pattern?

4.)|x-2| if x = 2

should i replace the x with 2

2-2=0

CORRECT

5.)|x-2| if x > (greater than) 2

x+2=3

How did you get x+2=3? You should try some numbers bigger than 2 and see what you get. What do you get when x=3? You get |3-2|=1 or x-2. What about for x=4? x=10?

See comments above.
 
  • #7
Re: Absolute value

even though u wrote that i still don't seem to get it...(Worried) u have to choose numbers for these ? like where it says greater then and less than
 
  • #8
Re: Absolute value

CSmith said:
even though u wrote that i still don't seem to get it...(Worried) u have to choose numbers for these ? like where it says greater then and less than

EDIT: It looks like there was a typo in the problem so see my post below about that. I think that post should be easier to understand.

If pressed for time then from your original post I would focus on 1-7 first. Once you get those I would move onto adding and subtracting things within absolute values.
 
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  • #9
Re: Absolute value

thanks for your help .I understand everything up to the part with the clumn can u explain.i will check tommorow i have to go right now.
 
  • #10
Re: Absolute value

CSmith said:
thanks for your help .I understand everything up to the part with the clumn can u explain.i will check tommorow i have to go right now.

In your original post you wrote
9.)|x-2| if x > than 2?
but in a later post you wrote
3.)|x-2| if x <2
If the first version was correct then you can ignore my previous long post. That was all going with x being less than 2.

If x>2, what does that mean? x is anything above 2, but not including 2. Another way to say it is x can't be less than 2 or 2 itself. I don't know how you are being taught these concepts or how you think of it but those are both the same idea. You understand the differences between <, >, $\le$, and $\ge$ correct? If so, then obviously ignore this part.

So if x>2, then it could be 3, 4, 5, etc. If we plug in those numbers into |x-2| what do we get? For x=3 we get |3-2|=|1|=1. For x=4 we get |4-2|=|2|=2. That's what I was trying to say by "plugging in some numbers". With inequality problems sometimes you can use the info you have and and plug in some potential values, which can help you out.

We started with |x-2| if x>2. If x>2 then x-2 is always positive. Try to see that through the above examples or trying you own values. If x-2 is always positive then we don't need the absolute value sign.

|x-2|= x-2 <-- that's your final answer
 
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  • #11
Re: Absolute value

CSmith said:
1.) For what values is it true that x is less than equal to |x| .

When \(x\) is positive \(x=|x|\)

When \(x\) is negative \(x=-|x|<|x|\)

When \(x=0,\ x=|x|\),

So \(x\le |x|\) for all real \(x\)

CB
 
  • #12
Re: Absolute value

CSmith said:
Can someone check these ractice questions for me thanks.i need to understand what is being asked and how to go about this.
1.) For what values is it true that x is less than equal to |x| . 2.)For what values is it true that x=|x|?3.)|z|/-|z|,z is not equal to 0

4.)|t|/|t|, t is not equal to y

5.)|y-x|-|x-y|6.)|h| if h is negative: answer---> |-h|=h7.)|-h| if h is negative8.)|x-2| if x=29.)|x-2| if x > than 2?10)|x+6|+|x-2|if 0
It would help if you type out all the questions in English, as it is 3 through 10 are not questions and we are left guessing what is wanted. Also there is a typo in 4 since we have a mystery reference to "y".

CB
 

FAQ: Finding Absolute Values: Can someone help me with these practice questions?

What is the definition of absolute value 2?

The absolute value of a number is the distance of that number from 0 on a number line. Absolute value 2 is the absolute value of the number 2, which is 2 units away from 0.

How do you find the absolute value of a negative number 2?

The absolute value of a negative number is its positive equivalent. To find the absolute value of a negative number 2, simply drop the negative sign to get 2.

What is the relationship between absolute value 2 and the number 2?

The absolute value of a number is always positive or zero. Therefore, the absolute value of 2 is 2, which is the same as the original number.

How is absolute value 2 used in real life?

Absolute value 2 is often used to represent distance or magnitude in real life situations, such as measuring the height of a building or the temperature of a room.

Can absolute value 2 be a decimal or fraction?

Yes, absolute value can be any real number, including decimals and fractions. For example, the absolute value of -2.5 is 2.5 and the absolute value of 1/2 is 0.5.

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