Question

Please explain this step by step... I am so lost..

Answer 1

\[-3 \left| m \right|=-9\]

Answer 2

Solve and graph the equation

Answer 3

Would I add or subtract?

Answer 4

Well, you always want to isolate theabsolute value portion best you can first. So that means your first step is to divide by -3. Dividing both sides by -3 leaves you with
|m| = 3
Now when you have an absolute value equal to something, you must always say that whatever is inside of the absolute value is equal to the positive version of whats on the other side of the equal sign and, in a separate equation, also equal to the negative version of whats on the other side of the equal sign. Sayign this, you have 2 equations

m = 3
m = -3

Which basically tells you the answer right there. The only way we could graph this would be to assume that m was our independent variable (basically an x-value). IN which case we would haveto say we have the line of x = -3 and the line of x = 3. So basically two vertical lines:

Answer 5

But if it's equal why does the other side have to be a negative?

Answer 6

Absolute value represents the distance from 0 on a number line. So when I divide by -3 and get |m| = 3, this is saying "what values of m are 3 units away from 0?" Well, since we're talkign abouta number line:



In the end, absolute value bars always make whats inside positive. Which if thats the case, we also have to account for the fact that whatever m was, that it MIGHT have been negative. So we set it equal to the negative version as well.