THEME:REAL-LIFE APPLICATIONS OF ABSOLUTE VALUE IN MATHEMATICS
Keywords:
absolute value, modulus, distance, number line, measurement error, tolerance, temperature, statistics, real-life mathematics.Abstract
Absolute value, also called modulus, is a fundamental mathematical
concept that represents the non-negative magnitude of a real number and its distance
from zero on the number line. Although it is introduced as an elementary algebraic
idea, absolute value has many practical applications in everyday life, science,
engineering, economics, statistics, computing, navigation, measurement, and
optimization. This article explains the mathematical properties of absolute value and
demonstrates its real-life meaning through practical problems involving temperature,
distance, financial change, measurement error, manufacturing tolerance, statistics, and
coordinate geometry. Step-by-step examples show how absolute value converts signed
differences into meaningful non-negative distances or magnitudes.
References
1. R. Larson, Algebra and Trigonometry, Cengage Learning.
2. M. Sullivan, Algebra and Trigonometry, Pearson.
3. R. Blitzer, College Algebra, Pearson.
4. R. E. Walpole et al., Probability and Statistics for Engineers and Scientists,
Pearson.
5. J. Stewart, Calculus: Early Transcendentals, Cengage Learning.
