1. Solving Absolute Value Equations Graphically Recall the steps used to solve an equation graphically: 1) Move all terms to the left hand side of the equation. Call this expression on the left y1 2) Graph y1 and determine the x-intercepts. 3) The x-values of the x-intercepts are the solutions to the equation. This will be our approach to solving absolute value equations.

2. Example Solve the following absolute value equation graphically: Move all terms to the left hand side. Let y1 equal the left hand side.

3. Enter the expression for y1 into the calculator Press Zoom-6 to graph Use Trace to find the x-intercepts Absolute value (abs) is the first item in the catalog list (above the 0 key)

4. Press Trace and then enter 3. Now repeat the process with x = 4, the intercept on the right. Since the y-value is 0, (3,0) is an x-intercept, and 3 is a solution to the equation. Again, the y-value is 0. The solutions to the equation are x = 3,4