I've decided to self-study math to conquer some old fears--I'm pretty new to the idea of proving overall, and I am stuck on this: *Explain why there are no real numbers that satisfy the equation: $$|x^2 + 4x| = -12.$$
I've tried to do a proof by induction; but I'm wondering whether this is the right way to approach this, and I frankly do not know how to word it at all. What should I do?
The absolute value of a real number cannot be negative, hence the equation cannot be solvable.