Chapter 1 - Section 1.2 - Algebraic Expressions and Sets of Numbers - Exercise Set - Page 16: 57

-2

The absolute value is the number of units a number $x$ is away from 0, and is indicated by putting $x$ between two vertical lines (e.g. |$x$|). Since 2 is 2 units away from 0, the absolute value of 2—written as |8|—is 2. However, the negative symbol is outside of the ||, so instead of taking the absolute value of $-2$, you take the absolute value of 2 and put the negative symbol ahead of that value to get the answer.