Absolute Value
Johnny is trying to decide what to do today!
1. How far is Johnny from school?
2. How far is Johnny from home?
3. Johnny decides to take a stroll south. If he gets to the next street, how far is he from the movie theater? How far is he from the park?
Absolute value tells us how far a number is from zero. It is a distance, not a direction, so the value is always positive. In this example, Johnny represented the integer zero.