Question

Arrange the following in the order of the greatest to the least absolute values.
$7,–31,21,–13$

Answer 1

Let's find the absolute values of each of the given numbers.

Number	Absolute value
$7$	$|7|=7$
$–31$	$|–31|=–1\times (–31)=31$
$21$	$|21|=21$
$–13$	$|–13|=–1\times (–13)=13$

As per the above table, $31>21>13>7\Rightarrow |–31|>|21|>|–13|>|7|.$

Therefore, $–31$ has the greatest absolute value, while 7 has the lowest absolute value.