Question 1119204
An absolute number cannot be negative. Pretend you are at the zero line and take two steps left, now you are standing on -2. Next I ask you to go back to the zero line and take two steps right. Now you're standing on the +2. But both times you took two steps. Absolute value doesn't care about the direction, only about the distance.
To solve your equation:
∣5x+1∣>3 to solve, we rewrite:

5x+1>3 subtract 1 on both sides
5x > 2 divide both sides by 5
x > 2/5 so your yardstick is 2/5 to the right, in the positive. And how far does it go to the left, to the negative? Because the answer will let you calculate the length of your yardstick
5x+1>-3
5x>-4
x<-4/5 (notice the change in the direction of the sign because, from zero, we are decreasing 4/5)
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So, how long is your yardstick? It goes from -4/5 on the left to 2/5 on the right:
2/5--4/5 = 6/5 = 1.2 This is how long your yardstick is.