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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from Jack, a student: |x+ 3| = |x-1| |
Hi Jack,
REcall the definition of absolute value
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Hence |x + 3| is either (x + 3) or -(x + 3) and |x - 1| is either (x - 1) or -(x - 1). This gives you four equations
(x + 3) = (x - 1) and so on.
Solve each equation for x and check any solutions to see if they are solutions to |x + 3| = |x - 1|.
Penny
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