Asked by ISSC

What is the best explanation as to why the following equation has NO SOLUTION?
| - 6 + 5x| = -16

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The absolute value of any real number is always nonnegative: |y| ≥ 0 for all real y. The right-hand side −16 is negative, so no real x can make |−6 + 5x| equal −16.

(Equivalently, if you square both sides you get (−6+5x)^2 = 256, which gives x = 22/5 or x = −2; these produce |−6+5x| = 16, not −16, so they are not solutions.)