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2012 AMC 12A Problem 1

Problem 1 of 25EasierAlgebra

A bug crawls along a number line, starting at −2.-2. It crawls to −6,-6, then turns around and crawls to 5.5. How many units does the bug crawl altogether?

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Solution

The bug crawls ∣−6−(−2)∣=4|-6-(-2)| = 4 units on the first leg and ∣5−(−6)∣=11|5-(-6)| = 11 units on the second leg. The total distance is 4+11=15.4 + 11 = 15. Thus, the correct answer is E.

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Concepts: absolute value

Problem text and solution from the LIVE past-contest archive. See also the AoPS wiki page for community solutions.