INTRODUCTORY EXERCISES

(3) Find the distance between the given numbers.

 (a) -x and x

 (b) x and 3

 (c) (x + 5) and (x + 2)

 (a)  |x - (-x)| = |2x| = 2x if x  0 
                       or = -2x if x < 0

 (b)  |3 - x| = 3 - x if x  3
             or = x - 3 if x > 3

 (c)  |(x + 2) - (x + 5)| = |x + 2 - x - 5| = |-3| = 3