Subject: Calculus
Chapter 1: The Real Number System
Lesson 2: Inequalities and Intervals
Learning Objectives:
1. Explain what inequalities represent and how they are used.
2. Solve inequalities using the rules for operating on them.
3. Solve compound inequality by balancing all three components of the inequality
Discussion:
Key Points
An inequality describes a relationship between two different values.
The notation means that is strictly smaller in size than , while the
notation means that is strictly greater than .
The notion means that is less than or equal to , while the notation
means that is greater than or equal to .
Inequalities are particularly useful for solving problems involving minimum or
maximum possible values.
Key Terms
number line: A visual representation of the set of real numbers as a series of points.
inequality: A statement that of two quantities one is specifically less than or greater
than another.
In mathematics, inequalities are used to compare the relative size of values. They can be used
to compare integers, variables, and various other algebraic expressions. A description of
different types of inequalities follows.
Strict Inequalities
A strict inequality is a relation that holds between two values when they are different. In the
same way that equations use an equals sign, , to show that two values are equal, inequalities
use signs to show that two values are not equal and to describe their relationship. The strict
inequality symbols are and .
LECTURE NOTES IN CALCULUS
Chapter 1: Real Number System
Prepared by: MARIA DIVINA B. TAPIRU
Strict inequalities differ from the notation , which means that is not equal to .
The symbol does not say that one value is greater than the other or even that they can be
compared in size.
In the two types of strict inequalities, is not equal to . To compare the size of the values,
there are two types of relations:
1. The notation means that is less than .
2. The notation means that is greater than .
The meaning of these symbols can be easily remembered by noting that the “bigger” side of
the inequality symbol (the open side) faces the larger number. The “smaller” side of the
symbol (the point) faces the smaller number.
The above relations can be demonstrated on a number line. Recall that the values on a
number line increase as you move to the right. The following therefore represents the
relation is less than :
is to the left of on this number line.
and the following demonstrates being greater than :
is to the right of on this number line.
In general, note that:
is equivalent to ; for example, is equivalent to .
is equivalent to ; for example, is equivalent to .
Other Inequalities
In contrast to strict inequalities, there are two types of inequality relations that are not strict:
The notation means that is less than or equal to (or, equivalently, “at
most” ).
LECTURE NOTES IN CALCULUS
Chapter 1: Real Number System
Prepared by: MARIA DIVINA B. TAPIRU
The notation means that is greater than or equal to (or, equivalently, “at
least” ).
Inequalities with Variables
In addition to showing relationships between integers, inequalities can be used to show
relationships between variables and integers.
For example, consider . This would be read as “ is greater than ″ and indicates that
the unknown variable could be any value greater than , though not itself. For a
visualization of this, see the number line below:
Note that the circle above the number is open, indicating that is not included in possible
values of .
For another example, consider . This would be read as “ is less than or equal to ″ and
indicates that the unknown variable could be or any value less than . For a visualization
of this, see the number line below:
Note that the circle above the number is filled, indicating that is included in possible
values of .
Inequalities are demonstrated by coloring in an arrow over the appropriate range of the
number line to indicate the possible values of . Note that an open circle is used if the
inequality is strict (i.e., for inequalities using or ), and a filled circle is used if the
inequality is not strict (i.e., for inequalities using or ).
Solving Problems with Inequalities
Recall that equations can be used to demonstrate the equality of math expressions involving
various operations (for example: ). Likewise, inequalities can be used to
demonstrate relationships between different expressions.
For example, consider the following inequalities:
LECTURE NOTES IN CALCULUS
Chapter 1: Real Number System
Prepared by: MARIA DIVINA B. TAPIRU
Each of these represents the relationship between two different expressions.
One useful application of inequalities such as these is in problems that involve maximum or
minimum values.
Example 1
Jared has a boat with a maximum weight limit of pounds. He wants to take as many of
his friends as possible onto the boat, and he guesses that he and his friends weigh an average
of pounds. How many people can ride his boat at once?
This problem can be modeled with the following inequality:
where is the number of people Jared can take on the boat. To see why this is so, consider
the left side of the inequality. It represents the total weight of people weighing pounds
each. The inequality states that the total weight of Jared and his friends should be less than or
equal to the maximum weight of , which is the boat’s weight limit.
There are steps that can be followed to solve an inequality such as this one. For now, it is
important simply to understand the meaning of such statements and cases in which they
might be applicable.
Rules for Solving Inequalities
Arithmetic operations can be used to solve inequalities for all possible values of a variable.
Key Points
When you’re performing algebraic operations on inequalities, it is important to perform
the same operation on both sides in order to preserve the truth of the statement.
If both sides of an inequality are multiplied or divided by the same positive value, the
resulting inequality is true.
If both sides are multiplied or divided by the same negative value, the direction of the
inequality changes.
Inequalities involving variables can be solved to yield all possible values of the
variable that make the statement true.
LECTURE NOTES IN CALCULUS
Chapter 1: Real Number System
Prepared by: MARIA DIVINA B. TAPIRU
Key Terms
inequality: A statement that of two quantities one is specifically less than or greater
than another.
Operations on Inequalities
When you’re performing algebraic operations on inequalities, it is important to conduct
precisely the same operation on both sides in order to preserve the truth of the statement.
Each arithmetic operation follows specific rules:
Addition and Subtraction
Any value may be added to or subtracted from both sides of an inequality. That is to say,
for any real numbers , and :
If , then and .
If , then and .
As long as the same value is added or subtracted from both sides, the resulting inequality
remains true.
For example, consider the following inequality:
Let’s apply the rules outlined above by subtracting from both sides:
This statement is still true.
Multiplication and Division
The properties that deal with multiplication and division state that, for any real
numbers, , and non-zero :
If is positive, then multiplying or dividing by does not change the inequality:
If and , then and .
LECTURE NOTES IN CALCULUS
Chapter 1: Real Number System
Prepared by: MARIA DIVINA B. TAPIRU
If and , then and .
If is negative, then multiplying or dividing by inverts the inequality:
If and , then and .
If and , then and .
Take note that multiplying or dividing an inequality by a negative number changes the
direction of the inequality. In other words, a greater-than symbol becomes a less-than symbol,
and vice versa.
To see these rules applied, consider the following inequality:
Multiplying both sides by yields:
We see that this is a true statement, because is greater than .
Now, multiply the same inequality by (remember to change the direction of the symbol
because we’re multiplying by a negative number):
This statement also holds true. This demonstrates how crucial it is to change the direction of
the greater-than or less-than symbol when multiplying or dividing by a negative number.
Solving Inequalities
Solving an inequality that includes a variable gives all of the possible values that the variable
can take that make the inequality true. To solve an inequality means to transform it such that
a variable is on one side of the symbol and a number or expression on the other side. Often,
multiple operations are often required to transform an inequality in this way.
Addition and Subtraction
To see how the rules of addition and subtraction apply to solving inequalities, consider the
following:
LECTURE NOTES IN CALCULUS
Chapter 1: Real Number System
Prepared by: MARIA DIVINA B. TAPIRU
First, isolate :
Therefore, is the solution of . In other words, is true for any
value of that is less than or equal to .
Multiplication and Division
To see how the rules for multiplication and division apply, consider the following inequality:
Dividing both sides by yields:
The statement is therefore the solution to . In other words, is true for
any value of greater than .
Now, consider another inequality:
Because of the negative sign involved, we must multiply by a negative number to solve for .
This means that we must also change the direction of the symbol:
( )
Therefore, the solution to is . The given statement is therefore true for any
value of greater than or equal to .
LECTURE NOTES IN CALCULUS
Chapter 1: Real Number System
Prepared by: MARIA DIVINA B. TAPIRU
Example
Solve the following inequality:
First, add to both sides:
Next, divide both sides by 3:
Special Considerations
Note that it would become problematic if we tried to multiply or divide both sides of an
inequality by an unknown variable. If any variable is unknown, we cannot identify whether
it has a positive or negative value. Because the rules for multiplying or dividing positive and
negative numbers differ, we cannot follow this same rule when multiplying or dividing
inequalities by variables. Variables can, however, be added or subtracted from both sides of
an inequality.
Compound Inequalities
A compound inequality involves three expressions, not two, but can also be solved to find the
possible values for a variable.
Key Points
A compound inequality is of the following form: .
There are two statements in a compound inequality. The first statement is . The
next statement is . When we read this statement, we say “ is less than , and is
less than .”
An example of a compound inequality is: . In other words, is some number
strictly between and .
A compound inequality may contain an expression, such as ; such
inequalities can be solved for all possible values of .
LECTURE NOTES IN CALCULUS
Chapter 1: Real Number System
Prepared by: MARIA DIVINA B. TAPIRU
Key Terms
compound inequality: An inequality that is made up of two other inequalities, in the
form .
inequality: A statement that of two quantities one is specifically less than or greater
than another.
Defining Compound Inequalities
A compound inequality is of the following form:
There are actually two statements here. The first statement is . The next statement
is . This statement is therefore read as “ is less than , and is less than .”
The compound inequality indicates “betweenness”—the number is between the
numbers and . Without changing the meaning, the statement can also be read
as . Therefore, the form can also be read as “ is greater than , and at the
same time is less than .”
Consider . This states that is some number strictly between and . For a
visualization of this inequality, refer to the number line below. The numbers and are not
included, so we place open circles on these points.
The above inequality on the number line.
Similarly, consider . In this case, is some number strictly between and .
Again, because the numbers and are not included, we place open circles on those
points.
The above inequality on the number line.
LECTURE NOTES IN CALCULUS
Chapter 1: Real Number System
Prepared by: MARIA DIVINA B. TAPIRU
Solving Compound Inequalities
Now consider . The expression represents some number strictly between
and . However, the meaning of this is difficult to visualize—what does it mean to say that
an expression, rather than a number, lies between two points? Not to worry—we can still find
all possible values of not only the expression, but the variable itself.
The statement says that the quantity is between and , a statement
that will be true for only certain values of .
To solve for possible values of , we need to get by itself:
Therefore, we find that if is any number strictly between and , the statement
will be true.
Example 1
Solve .
Multiply each part to remove the denominator from the middle expression:
Isolate in the middle of the inequality:
Now divide each part by (and remember to change the direction of the inequality
symbol!):
Finally, it is customary (though not necessary) to write the inequality so that the inequality
arrows point to the left (i.e., so that the numbers proceed from smallest to largest):
LECTURE NOTES IN CALCULUS
Chapter 1: Real Number System
Prepared by: MARIA DIVINA B. TAPIRU
LECTURE NOTES IN CALCULUS
Chapter 1: Real Number System
Prepared by: MARIA DIVINA B. TAPIRU
