Solving Positive and Negative Expressions
Completion requirements
When the sign of the contents of an absolute value is known, solving an absolute value equation is not too difficult – it is just a matter of deciding whether to multiply the expression inside the absolute value symbol by \(–1\) when dropping the absolute value symbol, followed by solving the resulting equation.
Unfortunately, when solving typical absolute value equations, it is not usually known if the expression is positive or negative. This leads to a solution strategy that uses cases where each possibility is checked separately.