Absolute Value

measures the distance of a number from 0 on

the number line.
 I. Absolute Value Equation

• The solution set to the equation

|x | = 5
is {-5,5} because both 5 and -5 are 5 units from
0 on the number line. So |x| = 5 is equivalent to
the equations
x = 5 or x = -5.
 I. Absolute Value Equation

• The equation |x| = 0 is equivalent to the

equation x = 0 because 0 is the only number
whose distance from 0 is zero. The solution set
to |x| = 0 is {0}.
• The equation |x| = -7 is inconsistent because
absolute value measures distance, and
distance is never negative. So the solution set
is empty.
 I. Absolute Value Equation
These ideas are summarized as follows:
BASIC ABSOLUTE VALUE EQUATIONS

Absolute Value
Equivalent Equation Solution Set
Equation
|x| = k (k > 0) x = k or x = -k {k, -k}
|x| = 0 x=0 {0}
|x| = k (k < 0) ∅
We can use these ideas to solve more complicated
absolute value equations.
 I. Absolute Value Equation

Example 1. Absolute value equal to a

positive number

Solve each equation.

a. |x – 7| = 2
b. b. |3x – 5| = 7
 I. Absolute Value Equation

Solution:
a. First rewrite |x – 7| = 2 without absolute
value:
x – 7 = 2 or x – 7 = -2 (equivalent
equation)
x = 9or x=5
The solution set is {5, 9}. The distance from 5 to
7 or from 9 to 7 is 2 units.
 I. Absolute Value Equation

Solution:
b. First rewrite |3x – 5| = 7 without absolute
value:
3x – 5 = 7 or 3x – 5 = -7 Equivalent equation
3x = 12 or 3x = -2
𝟐
x = 4or x=-
𝟑
𝟐
The solution set is − ,𝟒 .
𝟑
 I. Absolute Value Equation

Example 2. Absolute value equal to zero

Solve |2(x – 6) + 7| = 0.
Solution:
Since 0 is the only number whose absolute value is 0, the expression within
the absolute value bars must be 0.
2(x – 6) + 7 = 0 Equivalent equation
2x – 12 + 7 = 0
2x – 5 = 0
2x = 5
𝟓
x=
𝟐
𝟓
The solution set is .
𝟐
 I. Absolute Value Equation

Example 3. Absolute value equal to a negative number

Solve -5|3x – 7| + 4 = 14.
Solution:
First subtract 4 from each side to isolate the absolute value
expression:
-5|3x – 7| + 4 = 14 Original equation
-5|3x – 7| = 10 Subtract 4 from each side
|3x – 7| = -2 Divide each side by -5
There is no solution because no number has a negative
absolute value.
 I. Absolute Value Equation

Example 4. Absolute value on both sides

Solve |2x – 1| = |x + 3|.
Solution:
Two quantities have the same absolute value only if they are equal or
opposites. So we can write an equivalent compound equation:
2x – 1 = x + 3 or 2x – 1 = -(x + 3)
x–1=3 or 2x – 1 = -x – 3
x=4 or 3x = -2
𝟐
x=4 or x=-
𝟑
2
Check that both 4 and - satisfy the original equation. The solution
3
𝟐
set is − , 𝟒 .
𝟑
 II. Absolute Value Inequalities

Since absolute value measures distance from 0 on the number

line, |x|> 5 indicates that x is more than five units from 0. Any
number on the number line to the right of 5 or to the left of -5 is
more than five units from 0. So |x|> 5 is equivalent to
x>5 or x < -5
The solution set to this inequality is the union of the solution sets
to the two simple inequalities. The solution set is (-∞, -5) ∪ (5,
∞). The graph of |x|> 5 is shown below.
 II. Absolute Value Inequalities

The inequality |x| ≤ 3 indicates that x is less than or

equal to three units from 0. Any number between -3
and 3 inclusive satisfies that condition. So |x| ≤ 3 is
equivalent to
-3 ≤ x ≤ 3.
The graph of |x| ≤ 3 is shown below.
 II. Absolute Value Inequalities

This table illustrate the basic types of absolute value

inequalities:
BASIC ABSOLUTE VALUE INEQUALITIES (k > 0)
Absolute
Equivalent
Value Solution Set Graph of Solution Set
Equation
Equation
|x|> k x > k or x < -k (-∞, -k) ∪ (k, ∞)
|x|≥ k x ≥ k or x ≤ -k (-∞, -k] ∪ [k, ∞)
|x|< k -k < x < k (-k, k)
|x|≤ k -k ≤ x ≤ k [-k, k)

We can solve more complicated inequalities in the same manner as simple ones.
 II. Absolute Value Inequalities

Example 5. Absolute value inequality

Solve |x – 9|< 2 and graph the solution set.
Solution:
Because |x|< k is equivalent to -k < x < k, we can rewrite |x – 9|< 2 as
follows:
-2 < x – 9 < 2
-2 + 9 < x – 9 + 9 < 2 + 9 Add 9 to each part of the inequality
7 < x < 11
The graph of the solution set (7, 11) is shown below. Note that the graph
consists of all real numbers that are within two units of 9.
 II. Absolute Value Inequalities

Example 6. Absolute value inequality

Solve |3x + 5|> 2 and graph the solution set.
Solution:
3x + 5 > 2 or 3x + 5 < -2 Equivalent compound inequality
3x > -3 or 3x < -7
𝟕
x > -1 or x<−
𝟑
𝟕
The solution set is (-∞,− ) ∪ (-1, ∞)
𝟑
 II. Absolute Value Inequalities

Example 7. Absolute value inequality

Solve |5 – 3x|≤ 6 and graph the solution set.
Solution:
-6 ≤ 5 – 3x ≤ 6 Equivalent inequality
-11 ≤ -3x ≤ 1 Subtract 5 from each part
11 1
≥x≥− Divide by -3 and reverse each inequality symbol
3 3
1 11 1 11
− ≤x≤ Write − on the left because it is smaller than
3 3 3 3
1 11
The solution set is − , and its graph is shown below.
3 3
 II. Absolute Value Inequalities

• There are few absolute value inequalities that do not fit the
preceding categories. They are easy to solve using the definition of
absolute value.

Example 8. Special case

Solve 3 +|7 – 2x|≥ 3
Solution:
Subtract 3 from each side to isolate the absolute value expression.
|7 – 2x|≥ 0
Because the absolute value of any real number is greater than of
equal to 0, the solution set is ℝ, the set of all real numbers.
 II. Absolute Value Inequalities

Example 9. An impossible case

Solve |5x – 12| < -2.
Solution:
We write an equivalent inequality only when the value of k is
positive. With -2 on the right-hand side, we do not write an
equivalent inequality. Since the absolute value of any quantity
is greater than or equal to 0, no value of x can make this
absolute value less than -2. The solution set is ∅, the empty set.
 III. Applications
Example 10. Controlling water temperature
The water temperature in a certain manufacturing process must be kept at
143°F. The computer is programmed to shut down the process if the water
temperature is more than 7° away from what it is supposed to be. For what
temperature readings is the process shut down?
Solution:
If we let x represent the water temperature, then x – 143 represents the
difference between the actual temperature and the desired temperature.
The quantity x – 143 could be positive or negative. The process is shut down if
the absolute value of x – 143 is greater than 7. |x – 143|> 7
x – 143 > 7 or x – 143 < 7
x > 150 or x < 136
The process is shut down for temperatures greater than 150°F or less than
136°F.