Absolute Value of Integers Worksheet

Absolute value is the distance that a number is from zero. This is often represented by placing a "|", or vertical bar, on each side of a number. Students will often begin calculating absolute values in 6th grade, and will continue to use them throughout their time in school. The real world utility of absolute value includes more advanced applications, such as the calculation of amplitudes and tolerances. However, absolute value is also applied in less complex ways, by many individuals, without realizing it.

A simple real world application of absolute value is calculating distance from a point. For example, we can use it to determine if Death Valley or New Delhi, India is farther from sea level. Death valley has an elevation of -282 feet and New Delhi has an elevation of 210 feet, when sea level is used as the reference point. When you first assess these numbers it is clear that 210 is greater than -282, but we must utilize absolute value to determine who is farther from sea level. The absolute value of -282 is 282 and the absolute value of 210 is 210, so it can be concluded that Death Valley is actually farther from 0 or sea level. This worksheet is designed for students to practice these absolute value calculations.

The absolute value of integers worksheet maker creates absolute value problem sets from randomly generated sets of integers. You can quickly customize various aspects of the worksheet to fit your preferences. The number of problems can be set between 1 and 40, with each problem contain integers with a maximum of 1, 2, or 3 digits. Additionally, you can increase the complexity of the problems by introducing negative absolute values. The worksheet can also be customized with various headers, including blanks for the student name, ID, class period, and date. After you have customized the worksheet, you can download it in A4 or US Letter sizes, as a unique PDF. Each sheet is generated with a matching answer sheet to simplify grading.