Nested Absolute Values
About this exercise
Absolute-value bars sitting inside other bars.
Example problems
A few of the problems this exercise asks. The printable worksheet holds ten fresh ones.
- ||-9| - |8|| =
- ||6| - |-5|| =
- ||5| - |0|| =
- ||8| + |-6|| =
Try it yourself first — open a section below only if you get stuck.
How to solve it
Work from the innermost pair outwards, resolving one layer completely before starting the next.
Worked example
In ||-6| - |-2|| the inner bars give 6 and 2, so the expression becomes |6 - 2|, which is 4.
Common mistake
Collapsing every layer at once. Each pair of bars applies only to what is written inside it.