Question

Select the most accurate answer below.

The value that comes out of an absolute
value must always be

a. Positive

b. Negative

c. non-negative

d. It could be positive or
negative

Answer 1

A. Positive all values are always positive

Answer 2

Answer:  c. non-negative

Explanation:

Absolute value is used to measure distance from zero on a number line.

For example, the distance from -27 to 0  is 27 units. So we'd say |-27| = 27.

Negative distance does not make sense, which is why the result is either positive or 0. To shorten that, we use the term "non-negative" which basically means "not negative".

Side note: the term can also be written as "nonnegative" because it technically can be thought of as one word rather than two. Both terms are acceptable though.