If one region is above the $x$-axis, and the other below it, should "the ratio of their areas" use absolute value?

Question

Good morning mathematicians,

I apologize for asking such a basic question. When you are to find the ratio of "Area 1" and "Area 2", such that "Area 1" is the area of a region above the x-axis and "Area 2" is the area of a region below the x-axis, are you looking for an absolute value of the ratio, or do you leave the value negative?

Answer 1

Typically, areas are always non-negative numbers, so a ratio of areas should also be non-negative (i.e. if the result is negative, the absolute value is taken).