Question

How do you get an answer to the equation,
|3-X|=20 when solving for X

Answer 1

set it up like this
-20<3-x<20
and you should be able to figure it out

Answer 2

you can break it into 2 equations:

3 - x = 20
3 - x = -20

Answer 3

an absolute value doesnt care about the sign of the insides; so it can either be equal to 20, or -20.

3-x = 20
or
3-x = -20

Answer 4

You have to remember the rule for absolute values:

\[|a| = b \implies a = b \text{ or } a = -b\]

Then you can split it up into two equations as ninja said and solve each. The union of the two solutions will be all the solutions.

Answer 5

another option is to take the negative of the innards; which may seem wierd.

(3-x) = 20
or
-(3-x) = 20