posted 04-27-2000 06:38 PM            

5 is equal to or less than x+1

posted 04-27-2000 06:48 PM            

okay, so if 5 is equal to x+1, x would hafta be 4. ...but 5 could also be less than x+1, in which case x is anything greater than 4. yr answer would be x is equal to or greater than 4. ya follow?

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joe@j0e.us
a.k.a. saffron/speed

posted 04-27-2000 07:05 PM            

p divided by -2 is less than -5

yikes

posted 04-27-2000 08:38 PM            

p divided by -2 is less than -5

your goal is to get p by itself on one side of the inequality. to do this, both sides need to be multiplied by -2 (remember that rule of: if you do something to one side, you also have to do it to the other?). so p divided by -2 multiplied by -2 leaves you with p on the left. -5 multiplied by -2 gives you +10. also, you need to flip your inequality (so that it reads p is greater than 10 rather than less than) because you multiplied by a negative number. i'm not exactly sure why you need to do this, but i know it's a rule: if you ever multiply or divide by a negative number, you need to flip the inequality. so, after flipping the sign, you're left with p is greater than 10. and that's you're answer.

-2x + 14 is less than 6
the same thing applies here. your goal is to get x on one side by itself. to start, get rid of the 14 from the left. you do this by subtracting 14 from both left *and* right. after doing this, you have an inequality that reads: -2x is less than 6 - 14. after some simplifying, you have -2x is less than -8. now, you want to get rid of the coefficient in front of the x. if you divide both sides by -2, the -2's on the left cancel out (-2 divided by -2 is equal to 1. 1 multiplied by x is x) and you're left with x on the left side. because you always have to do the same thing to both sides, you divide the right side of the inequality by -2 as well. this would be: -8 divided by -2. after simplification, your answer is 4. also remember that because you *divided* by a negative number, you need to flip the inequality sign between the two terms. after flipping the sign, you're left with your answer: x is greater than 4.