Question

what is the difference between |-3| and -3? please help and explain it step by step

Answer 1

|x| is just the distance away from 0 for x, disregarding whether it is to the left or right on the number line..

-3 is 3 units away to the left, so |-3| = 3
Review the definition.
|x| = x if x is positive
|x| = -x if x is negative
That is, |x| is always a positive number