188 M a t h s Q u e s t 9 fo r N ew S o u t h Wa l e s 5 .

2 P a t h w ay

Solving linear inequalities

An equation is a statement of equality such as x = 2, while an inequation or inequality
is a statement such as x < 2 (x is less than 2). The solution to a linear equation is a
single point on a number line, while the solution to an inequality is a portion of the
number line.
The following table shows four types of simple inequalities and their corresponding
representation on a number line.
Note that an open circle placed over the 2 indicates that 2 is not included; that is, 2
does not satisfy the inequality statement. A closed or solid circle indicates that 2 is
included; that is, it does satisfy the inequality statement.
Mathematical
statement English statement Number line diagram

x>2 x is greater than 2

–10 –8 –6 –4 –2 0 2 4 6 8 10

x is greater than or
x≥2
equal to 2 –10 –8 –6 –4 –2 0 2 4 6 8 10

x<2 x is less than 2

–10 –8 –6 –4 –2 0 2 4 6 8 10

x is less than or
x≤2
equal to 2 –10 –8 –6 –4 –2 0 2 4 6 8 10

The basic technique for solving inequalities is to:

1. imagine that in place of the inequality sign, there is an equals sign.
2. solve as if it were a linear equation, except that in place of the equals sign keep the
original inequality sign.
There is one exception, which we will discuss in the next section. Although we could
solve inequalities that are as complex as equations, we will generally work with the
simple inequalities, leaving more difficult ones for future years.

WORKED Example 14
Solve each of the following linear inequalities.
a x+3≤4 b 4x − 1 < −2 c 6x − 7 ≥ 3x + 5
THINK WRITE
a 1 Write the inequality. a x+3≤4
2 Obtain x by subtracting 3 from both x+3−3≤4−3
sides of the inequality. Keep the x≤1
inequality sign the same throughout.
b 1 Write the inequality. b 4x − 1 < −2
2 Add 1 to both sides. 4x − 1 + 1 < −2 + 1
4x < −1
4x – 1
3 Obtain x by dividing both sides by 4. ------ < ------
4 4
1
x < − ---
4
 Chapter 5 Linear equations and inequalities 189

THINK WRITE
c 1 Write the inequality. c 6x − 7 ≥ 3x + 5
2 Combine the pronumeral terms by 6x − 7 − 3x ≥ 3x + 5 − 3x
subtracting 3x from both sides. 3x − 7 ≥ 5
3 Add 7 to both sides. 3x − 7 + 7 ≥ 5 + 7
3x ≥ 12
3x 12
4 Obtain x by dividing both sides by 3. ------ ≥ ------
3 3
x≥4

The special case — multiplying or dividing by a negative

number
Consider the inequality 6 > 5 (6 is greater than 5).
If we multiply both sides of the inequality by −1 we get:
−6 > −5 which is not correct.
We know that in fact −6 < −5. Applying this to inequalities generally, when we multiply or
divide an inequality by a negative number, the direction of the inequality sign must change.
When multiplying or dividing by a negative number, change the direction of the
inequality sign; that is, change: < to >
> to <
≤ to ≥
≥ to ≤

WORKED Example 15
Solve each of the following linear inequalities.
a −3m + 5 < −7 b 5(x − 2) ≥ 7(x + 3)
THINK WRITE
a 1 Write the inequality. a −3m + 5 < −7
2 Subtract 5 from both sides. (No change to the −3m + 5 − 5 < −7 − 5
inequality sign.) −3m < −12
– 3m – 12
3 Obtain m by dividing both sides by −3. ---------- > ---------
–3 –3
Reverse the inequality sign, since you are
m>4
dividing by a negative number.
b 1 Write the inequality. b 5(x − 2) ≥ 7(x + 3)
2 Expand both sets of grouping symbols. 5x − 10 ≥ 7x + 21
3 Combine the pronumeral terms by subtracting 5x − 10 − 7x ≥ 7x + 21 − 7x
7x from both sides of the inequality. −2x − 10 ≥ 21
4 Add 10 to both sides. −2x − 10 + 10 ≥ 21 + 10
−2x ≥ 31
– 2x 31
5 Obtain x by dividing both sides by −2. Because --------- ≤ ------
–2 –2
we need to divide by a negative number, reverse
the direction of the inequality sign. x ≤ −15 1--2-
 190 M a t h s Q u e s t 9 fo r N ew S o u t h Wa l e s 5 . 2 P a t h w ay

remember
remember
1. The solution to an inequality is a portion of the number line. (That is, there are
an infinite number of solutions to any given inequality.)
2. When solving inequalities, imagine an equals sign in place of the inequality
sign and solve as if it was a linear equation. Remember to keep writing the
original inequality sign between the two sides of each step.
3. Special case: if in the process of the solution you need to multiply or divide by
a negative number, reverse the inequality sign. That is, change: < to >, > to <,
≤ to ≥ and ≥ to ≤.

5G Solving linear inequalities

5.8 WORKED 1 Solve each of the following inequalities.

HEET Example
a x+1>3 b a+2>1 c y−3≥4
SkillS

14a
Showing d m−1≥3 e p+4<5 f x+2<9
inequalities g m−5≤4 h a−2≤5 i x − 4 > −1
on a
number line j 5+m≥7 k 6+q≥2 l 5 + a > −3

5.9 2 Solve each of the following inequalities.

HEET
a 3m > 9 b 5p ≤ 10 c 2a < 8
SkillS

Checking d 4x ≥ 20 e 5p > −25 f 3x ≤ −21

solutions m
to inequalities g 2m ≥ −1 h 4b > −2 i ---- > 6
3
x a m
j --- < 4 k --- ≤ −2 l ---- ≥ 5
2 7 5
Spreadshe
3 Solve each of the following inequalities.
EXCEL

et

WORKED
Example
Solving 14b
a 2m + 3 < 12 b 3x + 4 ≥ 13 c 5p − 9 > 11
linear d 4n − 1 ≤ 7 e 2b − 6 < 4 f 8y − 2 > 14
inequalities
g 10m + 4 ≤ −6 h 2a + 5 ≥ −5 i 3b + 2 < −11
j 6c + 7 ≤ 1 k 4p − 2 > −10 l 3a − 7 ≥ −28
d
hca
Mat

WORKED 4 Solve each of the following inequalities.

Solving Example a 2m + 1 > m + 4 b 2a − 3 ≥ a − 1 c 5a − 3 < a − 7
linear 14c
inequalities d 3a + 4 ≤ a − 2 e 5x − 2 > 40 − 2x f 7x − 5 ≤ 11 − x
g 2b + 25 > 7b + 5 h 2(a + 4) > a + 13 i 3(m − 1) < m + 1
j 5(2m − 3) ≤ 3m + 6 k 3(5b + 2) ≤ −10 + 4b l 5(3m + 1) ≥ 2(m + 9)

5 Solve each of the following inequalities.

x+1 x–2 x+7
a ------------ ≤ 4 b ----------- ≥ −4 c ------------ < −1
2 5 3
2x + 3 3x – 1 5x + 9
d --------------- > 6 e --------------- ≥ 2 f --------------- < 0
4 7 6
 Chapter 5 Linear equations and inequalities 191
WORKED 6 Solve each of the following inequalities.
Example
a −2m > 4 b −5p ≤ 15 c −2a ≥ −10
15
d −p − 3 ≤ 2 e 10 − y ≥ 13 f 14 − x < 7
g 1 − 6p > 1 h 2 − 10a ≤ 0 i 2(3 − x) < 12
j −4(a + 9) ≥ 8 k −15 ≤ −3(2 + b) l 2x − 3 > 5x + 6
m k + 5 < 2k − 3 n 3(x − 4) < 5(x + 5) o 7(a + 4) ≥ 4(2a − 3)
7 multiple choice
When solving the inequality −2x > −7 we need to:
A change the sign to ≥ B change the sign to <
C keep the sign unchanged D change the sign to ≤
8 Solve each of the following inequalities.
2–x 5–m –3 – x
a ----------- > 1 b ------------- ≥ 2 c --------------- < −4
3 4 5
3 – 8a 4 – 3m –2m + 6
d --------------- < −1 e ---------------- ≤ 0 f -------------------- ≤ 3
2 2 10
9 Solve each of the following inequalities.
a 3k > 6 b −a − 7 < −2 c 5 − 3m ≥ 0 GAME
d x+4>9 e 10 − y ≤ 3 f 5 + 3d < −1

time
7p 1–x – 4 – 2m Linear
g ------ ≥ −2 h ----------- ≤ 2 i -------------------- > 0 equations and
3 3 5 inequalities
j 5a − 2 < 4a + 7 k 6p + 2 ≤ 7p − 1 l 2(3x + 1) > 2x − 16 — 002

The cost of concrete

At the beginning of this chapter we
looked at John’s problem of deciding
for what volume of concrete he should
use either of two companies to do his
concrete pours.
Angelico’s Concrete: charges $700
plus $20 per cubic metre of concrete.
Baux Cementing: charges $1200 plus
$15 per cubic metre of concrete.
1 Write an algebraic expression for
the cost of using Angelico’s
Concrete.
2 Write an algebraic expression for
the cost of using Baux Cementing.
3 Write an inequality that, when
solved, will tell you the volume of
concrete for which it is cheaper to
use Angelico’s Concrete.
4 For what volume of concrete will it
be cheaper to use Baux Cementing?
5 For what volume of concrete will
the cost be the same (if any)?