The absolute value of a number is its distance from 0 on the number line. Since distance is always greater than or equal to 0, the absolute value of any number is greater than or equal to 0.
- 7.2, - 6.3, |5|, |- 6.3|, 8
Practice makes perfect
The absolute value of a number is its distance from 0 on the number line. Since distance is always greater than or equal to 0, the absolute value of any number is greater than or equal to 0. The absolute value of a non-negative number is equal to the number, while the absolute value of a negative number is equal to its opposite.
Now let's simplify the given numbers.
ccc
|- 6.3|= 6.3
|5|= 5
We will plot the numbers on a number line to see the order from least to greatest.
The number that is the farthest to the left is - 7.2, so it is the least from the list. The farthest to the right is 8, so it is the greatest. We can write the numbers in order from least to greatest by moving from left to right on the number line.
- 7.2, - 6.3, |5|, |- 6.3|, 8
