Answer
$\sqrt {17}-3$
Work Step by Step
Taking the absolute value of a number means removing the negative sign. Because the square root of $17$ is bigger than $3$, it will give a negative value after subtraction. In order to keep the value positive when the absolute value sign is gone, the order of subtraction will be flipped.
$|3-\sqrt {17}| = \sqrt {17}-3$
