Thursday, October 3, 2013

Middle School Math Solutions – Inequalities Calculator

Next up in our Getting Started maths solutions series is help with another middle school algebra topic - solving simple inequalities.

For example, take an inequality with one unknown x. You have an expression on one side that you know is more or less than what's on the other side.

This is a lot like solving equations (check here). Here too, your goal is to get x by itself on one side and a number on the other.

You do this by adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing both sides of the inequality. Remember, whatever you do to one side of the inequality, you have to do the same to the other side.  Most important to note is that multiplication or division by a negative number reverses the inequality.

Here's how Symbolab solves it, including the solution steps to help you learn this skill for yourself (click here):


A bit more complicated inequalities might include both lower and upper bounds, or in some cases absolute values.   Here you simply break the inequality into simple inequalities, solve each inequality and combine the solutions (some basic understanding of ‘and’, ‘or’ and ranges is required).

Here’s an example to demonstrate the steps (click here):



Until next time,

Michal