If you look inside Math.abs you can probably find the best answer:

Eg, for floats:

    /*
     * Returns the absolute value of a {@code float} value.
     * If the argument is not negative, the argument is returned.
     * If the argument is negative, the negation of the argument is returned.
     * Special cases:
     * <ul><li>If the argument is positive zero or negative zero, the
     * result is positive zero.
     * <li>If the argument is infinite, the result is positive infinity.
     * <li>If the argument is NaN, the result is NaN.</ul>
     * In other words, the result is the same as the value of the expression:
     * <p>{@code Float.intBitsToFloat(0x7fffffff & Float.floatToIntBits(a))}
     *
     * @param   a   the argument whose absolute value is to be determined
     * @return  the absolute value of the argument.
     */
    public static float abs(float a) {
        return (a <= 0.0F) ? 0.0F - a : a;
    }