Answer: 18
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Explanation:
If you start at 6, and count the number of spaces to get to -12, you should count out 18 spaces.
Or you could start at -12 and move to 6 to move 18 spaces to the right. Keep in mind each tickmark represents 2 spaces.
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You could also think of it like this:
Place point A at -12, B at 0, C at 6
The distance from A to B is 12 units. The distance from B to C is 6 units. In total we have AB+BC = 12+6 = 18 units from A to C.
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Or you could use absolute value and subtraction
Let P = -12 and Q = 6
We could say
|P - Q| = |-12-6| = |-18| = 18
or
|Q - P| = |6 - (-12)| = |6 + 12| = |18| = 18
The order of subtraction doesn't matter as long as you apply absolute value. Absolute value represents distance from 0 on a number line, so absolute value is never negative.
