Least absolute values

Alright kiddo, let me explain what least absolute values are. Say you have a bunch of numbers like 1, 5, 8, 4, and 2. You want to find the number that is closest to another number, let's say 6.

One way to do that is to subtract 6 from each number and see which one is the smallest. For example, if we subtract 6 from 1 we get -5, from 5 we get -1, from 8 we get 2, from 4 we get -2, and from 2 we get -4. So the smallest number is -5.

But there's another way to find the closest number called "least absolute values". This means you ignore whether the result is positive or negative and you only look at how far away it is from 6. So for example, the absolute value of -5 is 5, the absolute value of -1 is 1, the absolute value of 2 is 2, the absolute value of -2 is 2, and the absolute value of -4 is 4.

So now we have these values: 5, 1, 2, 2, and 4. Which one is the smallest? It's 1! So the number that's closest to 6 is 5 in our example.

I hope that helps, kiddo!