Absolute Value

The absolute value of a real number is the positive value of the number. If it is a negative number, then the negative sign is removed. Multiplying the negative number by negative one performs this math operation. If the number is positive, then it remains a positive number. If the number is zero, then it remains zero. Measurements use the absolute value because a length is always positive. The absolute value can also mathematically define a set of answers to a function. For instance, taking the square root of a number that is first squared results in the absolute value of the number, because the results are always the positive value.

Absolute values:
|-3.5| = 3.5, the absolute value of negative three point five is three point five.
|2.5| = 2.5, the absolute value of two point five is two point five.
|-3.33333 . . .| = 3.33333 . . ., the absolute value of negative three and a third is three and a third.
|-pi| = pi, the absolute value of negative pi is pi.