CHAPTER 6

INEQUALITIES
Example1: a. a  b
b. 2 x  3  5
c. x2  1  5x3  7 x2  1

 An inequality has two sides which are called members of inequality

 The signs: <,  , >,  are read: less than, less or equal than, greater, greater or
equal, respectively, are called senses of inequality
 Two inequalities have the same sense if the signs of inequalities point the same
ways (direction)

Definition 6.1: The solution of an inequality consists of those values of the variable for
which the inequality is satisfied.

Usually, there is a set of values, which satisfy given inequality, as well as a set of values that
does not. Such inequalities are called conditional inequalities.
However some inequalities are satisfied for all values of variable. Such inequalities are called
absolute inequalities.
The solution can be given in inequality form, in graphical form (graphed on a number line) or
in interval form.

Let us say a few things about intervals:

The set of all numbers satisfying the inequality a < x < b is called an interval, and denoted as
(a, b), where a is said to be left-end point and b is right-end point. Round brackets are non-
inclusive, meaning the end point after or before round bracket does not belong to the interval;
square brackets are inclusive, meaning that end point after or before square bracket belongs to
the interval. The table below lists all possible types of intervals:

Interval Notation Inequality Notation Graph Type of interval

(a, b) a<x<b open
[a, b) a  x<b half-open/half-closed
right-open/left-closed
(a, b] a<x  b half-open/half-closed
[a, b] axb closed
(a, ) x>a open
[a, ) xa closed
(, a) xa open
(, a] xa closed

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Example 2:
a. 2 x  2  4
x  1 , so the inequality will be satisfied for all x  1, but not for any x  1 .
It is a conditional inequality.
b. x2  3  0 , this inequality will be satisfied for all x  R . It is an absolute inequality.

6.1 Properties of Inequalities

1 The sign of an inequality does not change when the same number is added to or
subtracted from both member of inequality.
a bac bc

2 The sign of an inequality does not change when both sides of inequality are multiplied or
divided by the same positive number:
a  b  ac  bc , a c  b c, c  0

3 The sign of an inequality is reversed if both sides (members) of an inequality are

multiplied or divided by the same negative number:
a  b  an  bn, a  n  b  n, n  0.

4 If both members of an inequality are positive and n is a positive number, then the inequality
formed by taking nth power of each member (or nth root) has the same sign as the original
inequality:
a  b  a n  b n , n a  n b ; a, b, n >0

5 The sign of an inequality is reversed when we take the reciprocal of each side of an
inequality:
1 1
ab 
a b

6.2 Solving linear inequalities

Definition 6.2: If each side of an inequality contains only one variable (the same for both
sides) whose highest power is 1 (one), the inequality is said to be linear.

We already met this type of inequalities, and know how to solve them. We will give a few
examples to illustrate the technique for solving linear inequalities. In each case we will give the
solution in all three forms, ie, inequality form, interval form and graphically.

Example 1: Find all values of x that satisfy the following inequality:

a. x  3  4
b. 3  x  4
2
c. 1
x
d.  1  x  1  5
e. 2 x  x  1  3x  5
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Solution:
a. x  3  4
x  4 + 3
x  1 or (1, ) or

b. 3  x  4
 x  4  3
 x  7 and finally after multiplying both sides by (-1)
x  7 , or ( , 7) or

2
c.  1 we will take reciprocals of both sides
x
x
 1,
2
x  2 , or ( , 2) or

d. In such cases isolate x in the middle, ie add 1 to every part of the inequality:
1  x 1  5
0  x  6 or (0, 6] or

e. Since x appears in each part of the inequality we can not isolate it, in a0 case like this
we will write compound inequality as two inequalities as follows:
2 x  x  1  3x  5
(1) 2 x  x  1 and (2) x  1  3x  5 then solve each inequality separately and find
where their solutions overlap.
(1) 2 x  x  1 from where
x  1
(2) x  1  3x  5
 6  2x
3 x
After plotting solutions for each equation on a number line, we find that they overlap
for 3  x  1, or (-3, -1) or

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Exercise 6.1
Solve the following inequalities. Give your answer in all three forms.
1. x – 2 > -1 2. x  2  6
x
3. 2x > 5 4. 2
2
1
5. 4 x  3  5 6. x  2  1
3
7. 3p - 2  4 p  3 8. 3  t  2  3
9. 4  2  a  7 10. x  2  3x  1  5x 1
11. x  2  3x  1  3  x 12. 2m  3  m  2  2m  5
Determine the domain of the following functions
13. f ( x)  2  x 14. f ( x)  4  x

6.2 Solving non-linear inequalities

Let f(x )  0 be an inequality. Its easy to see that the set of solutions for linear inequality
f(x )  0 ends or starts where f(x), crosses x-axis.

Definition 6.3: Let f(x)  0 be inequality. The values of x for which the f(x) is zero or
undefined are called the critical values of the function.

Method 1 Find all critical values of f(x), and determine the sign of f(x) in each interval
formed by critical values.

Example 2: Find the values of x satisfying the following inequality: x 2  4  0

Solution: Let us first find the critical values of f(x) = x 2  4 ,
The critical values x1  2 , x2  2 are shown on the number line below.

-2 0 2

The intervals formed by the critical values are (,2) , (2,2) , (2, ) . Take one (any)
value from each interval and determine the sign of f(x):
f(-3) = 5 > 0
f(0) = -4 < 0
f(3) = 5 > 4

The interval(s) that have the same sign as the original inequality will satisfy (be the
solution of) the given inequality, ie in our case (,2)  (2, ) .

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Method 2 Factorise f (x) (when possible) then use the fact that product of two numbers is
bigger (smaller) than zero if both numbers have the same (different) sign.

Example 3. Find the values of x satisfying the following inequality: x2  4  0 .

Solution: f (x) factorised is ( x  2)( x  2) , so the original inequality can be written as:

( x  2)( x  2)  0 , now applying method 2, we have:

x  2  0 x  2  0
(1)  or (2) 
x  2  0 x  2  0

Obviously, from the first system x  2 and from the second one x  2

Method 3: Factorise (when possible) f (x) then determine the sign of each factor, and finally
the sign of the function f (x) for each interval formed by critical values.

Example 4. Find the values of x satisfying the following inequality: x 2  4  0 .

Solution: Let us factorise the given inequality and find it’s critical values:
x  2x  2  0 , so the critical values are –2, +2. It is easy to see that the critical values
divide whole number line into three intervals as listed below:

Interval Test point f(x) in factorised form Sign of Sense of

(x – 2)(x + 2) f(x) f(x)
(-  , -2) -3 -.- + >0
(-2, 2) 0 -.+ – <0
(2,  ) 3 +.+ + >0

So, the solution is where x  (, 2)  (2, )

Probably, the method 1 is most suitable for polynomial inequalities of degree higher than 1
(one). However, method 3 is the most suitable for rational inequalities.

x 1
Example 5. Solve for x: 0
x2
Solution: The critical values for numerator and denominator are x1  1 and x2  2 , so:

Interval Test point (x - 1)  (x + 2) sign sense

(-  , -2) -3 -- + >0
(-2, 1) 0 - + – <0
(1,  ) 2 ++ + >0

x 1
Therefore,  0 for x  (, 2)  (1, )
x2

( x  1) 2 ( x  1)
Example 6. Solve for x: 0
2 x

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Solution: The critical values for numerator and denominator are x1  1 , x2  1 , x3  2 , so

Interval Test Point (x – 1)2(x + 1)/(2 – x) sign sense

(-  , -1) -2 (+ . -)/+ – <0
(-1, 1) 0 (+ . +)/+ + >0
(1, 2) 1.5 (+ . +)/+ + >0
(2,  ) 3 (+ . +)/- – <0

( x  1) 2 ( x  1)
Therefore,  0 for x  (, 1)  (2, )
2 x

Exercise 6.2
Solve the following inequalities. Give your answer in all three forms (ie inequality form,
interval form and graphical form)
1. x2  4  0 2. x2  2 x  0
3. x2  4 x  5  0 4. x2  x  6  0
5. x2  2 x  3  0 6. 9 x2  1  0
7. 6 x2  x  1  0 8. 2 x2  x  1  0
9. 2 x2  5x  3  0 10. 6 x2  5x  1  0
x 3 ( x  2)( x  2)
11. 0 12. 0
x2 x 1
4 x2  4
13. 2 0 14. 0
x  2x  3 x 1
x2  x  2 ( x 2  2)( x 2  4)( x  1)
15.  0 16. 0
2 x2  5x  2 x( x  3)

Determine the domain of the following functions.

17. f ( x)  (3x  2)(3x  4) 18. f ( x)  15x 2  2 x  8

x 2  3x ( x 2  1)( x 2  4)
19. f ( x)  20. f ( x) 
x3  6 x 2  8 x x2  6 x  9

6.4 Solving inequalities graphically

Until this point we considered only algebraic methods of solutions for linear and non-linear
inequalities. Now we will look into graphical method.
Even though the two methods are independent of each other it is interesting (to say the least) to
compare the two, as they complement each other.

To solve inequality of any of the following forms: p( x)  0, p( x)  0, p( x)  0 or p( x)  0 we

first graph the corresponding equation p(x) = 0, then

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 1. if p( x)  0 , the solution is the set of all values of x for which the graph is below x-axis.
2. if p( x)  0 , the solution is the set of all values of x for which the graph is below x-axis
including x-intercepts.
3. if p( x)  0 , the solution is the set of all values of x for which the graph is above x-axis.
4. if p( x)  0 , the solution is the set of all values of x for which the graph is above x-axis
including x-intercepts.

Example 1. Solve graphically 2 x2  3x  2  0 .

Solution: Let us graph the corresponding equation 2 x2  3x  2  0
1 4
3
3 2 1 0 1 2
1 1

2 4 3 2 11 0 1 2
2
3
3
4 4

diagram 1 diagram 2

1 
The graph of 2 x2  3x  2  0 is above x-axis for x  (, 2) and  ,   .
2 
2
Example 2. Solve graphically  0.
x 1
2
Solution: From the diagram 2 above we find that the graph of  0 is below x-axis for
x 1
x  (, 1) .

Exercise 6.3
Solve the following inequalities graphically.
1. x2  x  1  0 2. x2  2 x  1  0
3. 2 x2  8x  8  0 4. x2  2 x  3  0
5. 2 x2  8x  4  2 6. x2  5x  4  0
7. x2  10 x  25  0 8. 2 x2   x  3
2 2
9. 0 10. 0
2x 1 x 1

6.5 Inequalities in two variables

As you may recall from theory of equations, we were able to solve equations in two variables.
True, we needed at least two equations to be able to find a solution. Similarly, we could have
an inequality in two variables. However, we can find solution for a single inequality in two
variables, as well as for a system of two or more inequalities (provided the solution exists). In
this section we will introduce methods for solving inequalities and systems of inequalities
(linear or not) in two variables, x and y.

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The easiest way to find a solution of an inequality in two variables is by graphical method.

6.5.1 Graphical Solution of Inequalities in Two Variables

Let us assume that inequality can be written as y  p( x) or y  p( x), where p( x) is
polynomial. Then

1. plot the graph of equation y  p( x) as a dashed line if original inequality is of type

y  p( x) or y  p( x) , or as solid line if the original inequality is of type y  p( x)
or y  p( x) . The graph divides the coordinate plane into two half-planes.

2. Choose a test point not on the graph, and substitute its coordinates into the inequality.
The point (0, 0) is usually the easiest to work with, provided it is not on the graph.

3. If the test point satisfies the inequality then the solution is the half-plane containing the
test point, otherwise the solution is the half-plane not containing the test point.

Example 1. Solve graphically 2x – y < -1.

Solution: We first graph y = 2x + 1 as a dashed line (why?)

2 2

1
3 2 1 1 0 1 2

2 1 0 1
4
1

2 7

diagram 1 diagram 2

Since (0, 0) is not on the graph we substitute it into the given inequality, ie

2  0  0  1
0  1, which is true, so the test point satisfies the ineauality.

Therefore the solution is the half-plane containing the point (0, 0) as shaded on diagram 3.

Example 2. Solve graphically, y  2 x 2  x  6 .

Solution: (refer to diagram 2 above) Let us first sketch the graph of y  2 x 2  x  6 as solid
line (why?), then use (0, 0) as the test point.

0  2  02  0  6
0  6 , which is not true.
Therefore, the solution is the half-plane not containing point (0, 0) as shown on diagram 4.

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Example 3. Solve graphically ( x  2)2  ( y  1)2  4 .
Solution: Graph the circle with center at (2, 1) with radius 2, as solid line.
4

1 0 1 2 3 4 5
1

Choose (0, 0) as the test point, so

(0  2)2  (0  1)2  4
4+1  4
5  4, which is false.

Therefore the solution is the half-plane not containing test point (0, 0), ie the inside of the
circle, as shown on diagram 5.

6.5.2 Solving systems of two inequalities in two variables

graphically
We solve each inequality separately, and then find a region where these solutions overlap. The
overlapping part is the solution of the system of inequalities.

 x  y 1
Example 1. Solve graphically the system of inequalities 
2 x  y  0
Solution:
2

2 1 0 1 2

diagram 4

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 (x  3) 2  ( y  2) 2  16

Example 2. Solve graphically 
( x  3)  ( y  2)  4

2 2

Solution:
3

2 0.5 3 5.5 8
1

diagram 4

Exercise 6.4
Solve graphically the following systems of inequalities.

2 x  3 y  1  0 x  2 y  4  0
1.  2. 
3x  2 y  4  0 3x  2 y  4  0

x  3y  5  0 x  3y  5  0
3.  4. 
2 x  3 y  5  0 3x  18  9 y  0

2 x  y  0  y  x  1
2

5.  6. 
y  x 3  y  x
2 2

 x2  y 2  2 y  3 
x  2x  y  4 y  4  0
2 2

7.  8.  2
x  0  x  2 x  y  4 y  11  0

2

2 x  3 y  6  0
 x2  2 x  y 2  6 y  6  0
 
9.  2 10.  x  y  0
x  2x  y  6 y  9  0

2
x  y  3  0


 x2  y  1  x 2  4 x  y 2  6 y  12  0
 
11.  x  3 y  6 12.  x 2  4 x  y 2  6 y  4  0
2 x  y  4  0  y  x 1
 

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