Definition:Absolute Value/Definition 1

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Definition

Let $x \in \R$ be a real number.


The absolute value of $x$ is denoted $\size x$, and is defined using the usual ordering on the real numbers as follows:

$\size x = \begin{cases} x & : x > 0 \\ 0 & : x = 0 \\ -x & : x < 0 \end{cases}$


Also presented as

Note that since $0 = -0$, the value of $\size x$ at $x = 0$ is often included in one of the other two cases, most commonly:

$\size x = \begin{cases} x & : x \ge 0 \\ -x & : x < 0 \end{cases}$

but this can be argued as being less symmetrically aesthetic.


Also known as

The absolute value of $x$ is sometimes called the modulus or magnitude of $x$, but note that modulus has a more specialized definition in the domain of complex numbers, and that magnitude has a more specialized definition in the context of vectors.

Some sources refer to it as the size of $x$.

Some sources call it the numerical value.


Also see

  • Results about the absolute value function can be found here.


Sources

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