Part 2/5:
This means that positive numbers stay positive, while negative numbers are converted to their positive counterparts.
Graphing Absolute Values
To better understand absolute values, let's graph the function ( y = |x| ). The graph consists of two linear segments.
For ( x \geq 0 ), the value of ( y ) is simply ( x ). For ( x < 0 ), the value of ( y ) is (-x). Thus, the graph of ( y = |x| ) produces a "V"-shaped figure, where the left side of the "V" represents the segment ( -x ) for negative ( x ), and the right side represents the segment ( x ) for non-negative ( x ).