Traditionally, in the maths you have learnt about so far, either side of the equation is exactly equal to each other. An Inequality sign means that both sides are not equal, however they are not equal by the same amount.
Inequality signs are used instead of an equals sign. The same rules apply to them except from a special case we need to look at. Here are the symbols:
$$ > \text{Greater than} > $$ $$ \geq \text{Greater than or equal to} \geq $$
$$ < \text{Less than} < $$ $$ \leq \text{Less than or equal to} \leq $$
Another way of thinking about inequalities is through drawing them on a number line.
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A closed dot means that the inequality includes that number and the line means to infinity or all the numbers including that number. An open dot means from that number but not that number itself. A closed dot is used to represent an inequality that also contains an equal sign (greater than or equal to for example), whilst an open dot is used for inequalities that aren’t equal to the number. The number line is a 1 dimensional representation of numbers; so another way to represent
We can also represent multiple inequalities on a 2D graph (with an x and a y axis that you should be familiar with).
When solving inequalities the only knew rule to learn is that when you divide or multiply by a negative number you must flip the sign. This means for example you would change a less than or equal to sign to a greater than or equal to sign if you multiplied by a negative number.
More coming soon