For absolute value, you are trying to figure out how many spaces it will take from that number to 0.
For example, if I was given the problem
| 3 |, I would ask myself "How do I get from 3 to 0? Since it takes you 3 spaces to get to 0, the answer will be 3. The same goes for any problem. If there is a negative sign in front of the absolute value, you add a negative to your answer.
hope that helps!
