Simplify |3-8|-(12÷3+1)^2

$| 3 - 8 | - {(12 \div 3 + 1)}^{2}$

Step 1

Simplify each term.

Subtract $8$ from $3$ .

$| - 5 | - {(12 \div 3 + 1)}^{2}$

The absolute value is the distance between a number and zero. The distance between $- 5$ and $0$ is $5$ .

$5 - {(12 \div 3 + 1)}^{2}$

Divide $12$ by $3$ .

$5 - {(4 + 1)}^{2}$

Add $4$ and $1$ .

$5 - 5^{2}$

Raise $5$ to the power of $2$ .

$5 - 1 \cdot 25$

Multiply $- 1$ by $25$ .

$5 - 25$

Step 2

Subtract $25$ from $5$ .

$- 20$