Inequalities

Compiled by: Nyasha P. Tarakino (Trockers)

+263772978155/+263717267175

[email protected]

25 JUNE 2019

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 SYLLABUS (6042) REQUIREMENTS

 Solving problems involving inequalities (including

rational inequalities)
 Modelling situations involving equations and
inequalities and solving related problems

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 INEQUALITIES
Definition

These are expressions involving the signs . An inequality is just a statement

that of two quantities one is specifically less than (or greater than) another.

Rules for solving inequalities

Suppose and are any given real numbers.

(i) If then .
That is, adding (or subtracting) a number to both sides of an inequality does not
change the direction of the inequality symbol.

(ii) If and then .

That is, multiplying (or dividing) an inequality by a positive number does not change
the direction of the inequality symbol.

(iii) If and then . That is, multiplying (or dividing) an inequality

by a negative number changes the direction of the inequality symbol.

Quadratic and Cubic inequalities

STEPS
(i) Bring all functions to one side of the inequality
(ii) Factorise the expression, where possible.

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 (iii) Find all real zeros of the polynomial, and arrange the zeros in increasing order. The
zeros of a polynomial are its critical numbers.
(iv) Use the critical numbers to determine the test intervals.
(v) Use a table or graph to find the required solution. BUT graphical method is the best.

Solutions above the are positive

Solutions below the are negative

NOTE
When solving quadratic/cubic/higher order inequalities you need to consider the critical
values. You calculate in each of the regions of the number line created by the critical
values and produce a sign diagram.

Worked Problems

Example 1
Solve the inequality

Solution

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The critical values are and .
NB: To find the critical values we set each expression to zero as follows:
and .
Now we can use either a table or a graph to determine the solution

Method 1: Table

The solution set is

Method 2: Graph

Let’s consider the function .

The graph cuts the when and when .
Now:
When : and when :
.

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Since the inequality sign is which means that the required solutions are those below the
.
The solution set is .

Example 2
Solve the inequality
Solution

The critical values are and .

Method 1: Table

The solution set is

Method 2: Graph

Let’s consider the function

The graph cuts the when and when .
Now:
When : and when :

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Since the inequality sign is which means that the required solutions are those above the
.

The solution set is

Example 3
Solve the inequality
Solution

The critical values are , and

Method 1: Table

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The solution set is

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Method 2: Graph

Let’s consider the function

The graph cuts the when and when .
Now:
When : and when :
.

Since the inequality sign is which means that the required solutions are those above the
.
The solution set is

Follow up Exercise

1) Solve the inequality Answer:

2) Solve the inequality Answer:
3) Solve the inequality Answer:
4) Solve the inequality 3 Answer:
5) Solve the inequality Answer:
6) Solve the inequality Answer:
7) Solve the inequality Answer:

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8) Solve the inequality Answer:
9) Solve the inequality
Answer:
10) Solve the inequality
Answer:

Inequalities involving rational fractions

 When solving inequalities involving a rational expression, you must ensure that the
expression is written in an appropriate form (i.e. factorised/simplified as far as possible
and with on the right-hand side). You can then find the critical values for the numerator
and denominator.
 If we multiply both sides of this inequality by g(x), we do not know which way to make
the inequality symbol point, because we do not know whether g(x) is positive or
negative!
 There are various methods for solving inequalities involving rational expressions, such as:
a) Multiplying throughout by the square of the denominator. We multiply both sides
of the inequality by . Since is NEVER
NEGATIVE, the direction of the inequality symbol does NOT change.
b) Combining all the fractions into one single term on one side of the inequality.
c) We can cross multiply if the denominator is positive definite. For example:
. NB: is NOT positive definite

Worked Problems

Example 1

Solve the inequality

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Suggested Solution

Method 1

The critical values of are: and .

Since the inequality sign is which means that the required solutions are those below the
.

The solution set is

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Method 2

The critical values of are: and .

Since the inequality sign is which means that the required solutions are those above the
.

The solution set is

ZIMSEC NOVEMBER 2013 PAPER 1

Solve the inequality

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Suggested Solution

The critical values of are: and .

Since the inequality sign is which means that the required solutions are those above the
.
The solution set is

NB: For the example above; and must not be part of the solution because

they make the fraction undefined.

ZIMSEC NOVEMBER 2018 PAPER 1

Solve the inequality

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Suggested Solution

Note: Since the denominator is positive definite, we should multiply both sides

by .

The critical values of are: and .

Since the inequality sign is which means that the required solutions are those below the
.

The solution set is

ZIMSEC NOVEMBER 2018 PAPER 2

Solve the inequality

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Suggested Solution

The critical values of are: and .

Since the inequality sign is which means that the required solutions are those below the
.
The solution set is

Follow Up Exercise

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1) Solve the inequality Answer:

2) Solve the inequality Answer:

3) Solve the inequality Answer:

4) Solve the inequality Answer:

5) Solve the inequality Answer:

6) Solve the inequality Answer:

7) Solve the inequality Answer:

8) Solve the inequality Answer:

9) Solve the inequality Answer:

10) Solve the inequality Answer:

11) Solve the inequality Answer:

Absolute Values

The absolute value of x, denoted by is the distance from x to 0 on the number line. Since
distances are always positive or 0, we have

In general, we have

if

if

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Absolute values can also be removed by using the following formula:

In general, for any positive number , we have if and only if

NOTE
Solving the equation leads to two answers: .
However, finding leads to only one answer, namely .

Inequalities involving Modulus signs

Case 1
where is any positive constant.

Worked Problem

Solve the inequality

Suggested Solution

Method 1

The solution set is

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Method 2

Squaring both sides:

The critical values are: and

Method a: Table

The solution set is

Method b: Graph

Let’s consider the function

The graph cuts the when and when .
Now:
When : and when :
.

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Since the inequality sign is which means that the required solutions are those below the
.
The solution set is

Method 3

Graphical method

LHS

: When ; and when ;

RHS

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From the diagram above we calculate the critical values as follows:

and

Now to solve we consider the shaded part.

The solution set is

Case 2
where is any positive constant.

Method 1

gives or

Method 2

Squaring both sides:

gives

Method 3

Graphical method

Solved Problem

Solve the inequality

Suggested Solution

Method 1

or

or

The solution set is

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Method 2

Squaring both sides:

The critical values are: and

Method b: Table

The solution set is

Method b: Graph

Let’s consider the function

The graph cuts the when and when .
Now:
When : and when :
.

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Since the inequality sign is which means that the required solutions are those above the
.
The solution set is

Method 3

Graphical method

LHS

: When ; and when ;

RHS

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From the diagram above we calculate the critical values as follows:

and

Now to solve we consider the shaded part.

The solution set is

Follow Up Exercise

1) Solve the inequality Answer:

2) Solve the inequality Answer:
3) Solve the inequality Answer:
4) Solve the inequality Answer:
5) Solve the inequality Answer:
6) Solve the inequality Answer:
7) Solve the inequality Answer:
8) Solve the inequality Answer:
9) Solve the inequality Answer:
10) Solve the inequality Answer:
11) Solve the inequality Answer:
12) Solve the inequality Answer:
13) Given that the solution of is , find the values of and .
Answer:
14) Solve the inequality Answer:
15) Solve the inequality Answer:
16) Solve the inequality Answer:
17) Solve the inequality Answer:

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Case 3 – Modulus on one side
or

When the modulus sign is on one side of the inequality the best method to use is graphical.

NOTE

Squaring comes with a condition that both LHS and RHS should be greater than zero. Thus
from the above general inequality, LHS is already positive hence RHS: .

Therefore the required solution will be all values of .

Method 1 - Best Method

Graphical

Method 2

Squaring both sides bearing in mind that the required solution will be all values of .

Solved Problem

Example

Solve the inequality

Suggested Solution

Method 1

Graphical

Drawing the graphs of and .

Now let’s consider:

When ; and when , .

For :

When ; and when , .

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Finding the critical value from the graphs:

We equate the equations of the intersecting graphs.

Now from the graphs we see that the shaded region satisfies :

The solution set is

Method 2

Squaring both sides

CONDITION

In order to square, the following condition needs to be taken note of the

following condition:

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Therefore all the solutions of are valid.

Now:

The critical values are and

Since the inequality sign is which means that the required solutions are those above the
.
BUT

Taking note of the condition above, all the solutions of are valid.

The solution set is

Follow Up Exercise

1) Solve the inequality Answer:

2) Solve the inequality Answer:

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3) Solve the inequality Answer:
4) Solve the inequality Answer:
5) Solve the inequality Answer:
6) Solve the inequality Answer:
7) Solve the inequality Answer:
8) Solve the inequality Answer:
9) Solve the inequality Answer:
10) Solve the inequality Answer:
11) Solve the inequality Answer:

Case 4 – Modulus on both sides

or

When the modulus sign is on both sides of the inequality we use either graphical method or
squaring method.

Solved Problem

Solve the inequality .

Suggested Solution

Method 1

Squaring both side

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The critical values are and

Since the inequality sign is which means that the required solutions are those below the
.

The solution set is

Method 2

Graphical

Drawing the graphs of and .

Now let’s consider:

When ; and when , .

For :

When ; and when ,

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From the diagram above we calculate the critical values as follows:

and

Now to solve we consider the shaded part.

The solution set is

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 Follow Up Exercise

1) Solve the inequality Answer:

2) Solve the inequality Answer:
3) Solve the inequality Answer:
4) Solve the inequality Answer:
5) Solve the inequality Answer:
6) Solve the inequality Answer:
7) Solve the inequality Answer:
8) Solve the inequality Answer:
9) Solve the inequality Answer:
10) Solve the inequality Answer:
11) Solve the inequality Answer:
12) Solve the inequality Answer:
13) Solve the inequality Answer:
14) Solve the inequality Answer:
15) Solve the inequality Answer:
16) Solve the inequality given that is a positive constant
Answer:
17) It is given that the variable is such that and . Find
the set of possible value of , giving your answer in the form , where and
are correct to significant figures. Answer:

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ASANTE SANA

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*******THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF EVERY TUNNEL *******

CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS ON THE FORM

OF THE PRESENTATION, INCLUDING ANY
OMISSIONS OR ERRORS, ARE WELCOME.

***ENJOY***

Nyasha P. Tarakino (Trockers)

+263772978155/+263717267175

[email protected]

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