Hello,

Can you please assist with the following:

S and T are two-digit positive integers that have the same digits but in reverse order. If the positive difference between S and T is less than 40, what is the greatest possible value of S minus T?

Answer Choices:

27
30
33
36
39

OA: 36


I tried to solve this as follows:

S = 10a + b
T = 10b + a

Now the question says "If the positive difference between S and T is less than 40". I was just wondering what exactly "positive difference" means? Can there be a "negative difference" as well here?

Thanks for your help,
Sri