Question

What is the absolute value of the distance of the point $(-5,0)$ from the origin?

• A. $10$ units
• B. $15$ units
• C. $-5$ units
• D. $5$ units

Answer 1

The correct option is D $5$ units

Since distance can never be negative, we need to find the absolute value.
$(-5,0)$ is a point on the $x$-axis and it is $5$ units to the left of the origin $(0,0)$.
Alternatively, we can find the absolute value of the distance by finding the difference of the abscissas and take a modulus.
Absolute value of the distance $=|-5-0|=|-5|=5$ units