Question: Plot $10.8$ and $-10.5$ on the number line below.
Find the distance between $10.8$ and $-10.5$.
Answer Attempt $1$ out of $2$
units
1. **State the problem:** We need to find the distance between the points $10.8$ and $-10.5$ on a number line.
2. **Formula used:** The distance between two points $a$ and $b$ on a number line is given by the absolute value of their difference:
$$\text{Distance} = |a - b|$$
3. **Apply the formula:** Here, $a = 10.8$ and $b = -10.5$.
$$\text{Distance} = |10.8 - (-10.5)| = |10.8 + 10.5|$$
4. **Calculate the sum inside the absolute value:**
$$10.8 + 10.5 = 21.3$$
5. **Evaluate the absolute value:**
$$|21.3| = 21.3$$
6. **Interpretation:** The distance between $10.8$ and $-10.5$ on the number line is $21.3$ units.
**Final answer:**
$$\boxed{21.3}$$