Math questions from any Manhattan Prep GMAT Computer Adaptive Test.
tim
Course Students
 
Posts: 5665
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 9:08 am
Location: Southwest Airlines, seat 21C
 

Re: If x and y are non-zero integers and |x| + |y| = 32, what is

by tim Sun Mar 15, 2015 12:46 am

What happened here wasn't so much "converting" as it was "taking the absolute value of both sides". Does it make more sense to think of it that way?
Tim Sanders
Manhattan GMAT Instructor

Follow this link for some important tips to get the most out of your forum experience:
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/forums/a-few-tips-t31405.html
RonPurewal
Students
 
Posts: 19744
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:23 am
 

Re: If x and y are non-zero integers and |x| + |y| = 32, what is

by RonPurewal Sun Mar 15, 2015 5:44 am

the basic deal is that |-3y| is the same thing as |3y|.
if you don't see why this is so, then plug a few y's (of all signs--positive, negative, zero) into both expressions, and observe what happens.

more generally, |whatever| and |-whatever| are going to be the same.