How to Find the Distance Between Two Integers Not Using a Number Line
- 1). Subtract the smaller number from the larger. Use this method for finding the distance between two positive integers. For example, the distance between 17 and 90 is 73.
- 2). Remove the negative sign and add the two integers together. Use this method for one positive and one negative integer. For the numbers 34 and -12, for instance, the distance is 46.
- 3). Remove the negative signs from both integers. With the remaining numbers, subtract the smaller from the larger. Use this method for two negative integers. As an example, for -52 and -12, removing the negative signs yields 52 and 12. Subtract 12 from 52 to find 40 as the distance.
- 4). Use the positive integer for distances between zero and a positive integer. Hence, the distance between 39 and 0 is simply 39. Remove the negative sign for distances between 0 and a negative integer. Thus, the distance between -98 and 0 is 98.
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