Calculate the distance of a number from zero on the number line.
Input Number
Absolute Result
5
Absolute Value |x|
Original SignNegative
Squared (x²)25
Square Root of Squared5
About this calculator
What is Absolute Value?
The absolute value of a real number is its non-negative value without regard to its sign. For example, the absolute value of both 5 and -5 is 5. Geometrically, it represents the distance between a number and zero on a number line.
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Pro Tips
Absolute value is never negative.
|a - b| is the distance between points a and b.
The absolute value of a product is the product of the absolute values: |ab| = |a||b|.
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Fun Facts
"The concept of absolute value dates back to Jean-Robert Argand in 1806, but the 'vertical bar' notation was introduced by Karl Weierstrass in 1841."
"In programming, the function is almost universally named 'abs()'."
"In complex numbers, absolute value is called the 'modulus'."
