Question

Evaluate the expression. $$|-4|$$

Short answer

The absolute value of -4 is 4.

Step-by-step solution

Understand Absolute Value

The absolute value of a number is its distance from zero on the number line. More formally, if a is a real number, then the absolute value of a, written as |a|, is defined as follows: If a is positive or zero, then |a| = a. If a is negative, then |a| = -a. Therefore the result of |-4| is always positive because absolute value makes any number nonnegative.

Evaluate the Absolute Value

The absolute value of |-4| is 4. The sign inside the absolute value notation doesn't affect the outcome, it's always a positive number or zero.