Simplify the expression |8 + 7| minus |5 + 6|.

1. Absolute value bars are treated like grouping symbols, so simplify inside each one first. 2. Inside the first bars, 8 plus 7 equals 15, so the absolute value is 15. 3. Inside the second bars, 5 plus 6 equals 11, so the absolute value is 11. 4. Subtract the two absolute values: 15 minus 11 equals 4. 5. Adding the two absolute values instead of subtracting them gives 26, which reverses the operation between the bars. _Source: OpenStax Prealgebra (CC BY 4.0), Ch 3 "Integers", section 3.1 Introduction to Integers_