Inequalities – Pre-algebra Math Quiz Online
Inequality equations in math
Inequalities are mathematical expressions that use certain symbols, such as “>” or “<“, to represent the relationship between two values. In pre-algebra, you will typically work with linear inequalities, which involve a single variable (such as x) and take the form of an equation with a inequality symbol in place of the equals sign.
One important thing to remember when working with inequalities is that the order of the values on either side of the inequality symbol matters. For example, the inequality “x > 5” means that x is greater than 5, while “5 > x” means that x is less than 5.
There are several different symbols that can be used in inequalities, each representing a different type of relationship between the values:
- “>” means “greater than”
- “>=” means “greater than or equal to”
- “<” means “less than”
- “<=” means “less than or equal to”
To solve an inequality, you will need to find the values of the variable that make the inequality true. This involves using the same techniques that you would use to solve an equation, such as combining like terms, using the distributive property, and so on.
One important difference between inequalities and equations is that when you solve an inequality, you will often need to consider a range of possible values for the variable, rather than just a single solution. For example, the inequality “x > 5” has an infinite number of solutions, because any value of x that is greater than 5 will make the inequality true.
To represent a range of values in an inequality, you can use what is called an “inequality sign” or “number line.” This is a line that is divided into sections, with a symbol (such as a dot or an open circle) placed at each possible value of the variable. The symbol for a value that makes the inequality true will be placed on one side of the line, while the symbol for a value that does not make the inequality true will be placed on the other side.
For example, consider the inequality “x > 5.” To represent this inequality on a number line, we would place a symbol for a value that makes the inequality true (such as a dot) on the side of the line that represents values greater than 5, and a symbol for a value that does not make the inequality true (such as an open circle) on the side of the line that represents values less than or equal to 5. The resulting number line would look like this:
(open circle) 5 (dot) (dot) (dot) (dot) (dot)
There are several other things to keep in mind when working with inequalities:
- When you multiply or divide both sides of an inequality by a negative number, you must reverse the inequality symbol. For example, if we start with the inequality “x > 5” and multiply both sides by -1, we would get “-x < -5,” which is the same as “x < -5.”
- When you add or subtract the same value from both sides of an inequality, the inequality symbol does not change. For example, if we start with the inequality “x > 5” and add 3 to both sides, we would get “x + 3 > 5 + 3,” which is the same as “x > 8.”