Question

Solve for all values of y
in simplest form.

∣y−12∣=16

Answer 1

`y=-4; y=28`

Explanation:

The way I like to think about it, with absolute value meaning the distance is

"find which number are 16 apart from 12". Which means 28 (to the right) or -4 (to the left).

More formally, applying the definition of absolute value,

`|y-12|=16 \leftrightarrow y-12=\pm16\\y-12=-16 \rightarrow y=-4\\y-12=+16 \rightarrow y=28`