Absolute Value

The absolute value of a number is the distance
the number is from zero on the number line.

The absolute value of a number is found by determining how many
units the number is from zero. Since distance is always thought of as
positive, the absolute value of any number is positive. For example,
-2 is 2 units from zero, so | -2 | = 2. In the picture below, you can
see that | 4 | = 4 and | -4 | = 4, because both 4 and -4 are 4 units
from zero on the number line.