Absolute value

The absolute value of a real number is defined as:

$|x|=x$ when $x\ge 0$

$|x|=-x$ when $x<0$

The absolute value of a complex number z = x + iy is defined as:

$|z|=\sqrt{x^2+y^2}$

where we take the positive value of the square root. Note that when y = 0, both definitions are equivalent.

Geometrically, the absolute value of a number represents its distance from the origin.

External links

• Wikipedia