Name: Single Variable

Introduction to Inequalities
An inequality is a pair of expressions or numbers that are not equal.
You can use these signs to express an inequality:

> greater than ≥ greater than or equal to

< less than ≤ less than or equal to

When you solve an inequality, you need to show all of the values that make the statement
true. One way to do this is by graphing the inequality on a number line.

examples: x ≤ 7 (x is less than or equal to 7)

x

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

9 < z (9 is less than z)

z

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

On an inequality graph, an open circle is used for greater than and less than. A filled circle
is used for greater than or equal to and less than or equal to.

Write each inequality in words. Then graph each on the number line using a red colored
pencil or crayon.

1. a≥3 word form: ______________________________________________________

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2. 25 > q word form: ______________________________________________________

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

3. t ≤ 17 word form: ______________________________________________________

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

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Name: Single Variable

Introduction to Inequalities
Write the inequality shown by each number line.
a
4. answer: _______________
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
x
5. answer: _______________
-15 -14 -13 -12 -11 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5
v
6. answer: _______________
30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
n
7. answer: _______________
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

Graph each inequality on the number line using a red colored pencil or crayon.

8. b≤0
-5 5

9. 14 < f
10 20

10. For the inequality k > 7, Chris says 6.5 and 6 are both solutions. Is he correct? Explain
why or why not.

11. For the inequality y ≤ 9, Jazmín says 9 and 0 are both solutions. Is she correct? Explain
why or why not.

12. Kavya is willing to spend $8 or less on a movie ticket. Show this amount on a number line.

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 ANSWER KEY Single Variable

Introduction to Inequalities
An inequality is a pair of expressions or numbers that are not equal.
You can use these signs to express an inequality:

> greater than ≥ greater than or equal to

< less than ≤ less than or equal to

When you solve an inequality, you need to show all of the values that make the statement
true. One way to do this is by graphing the inequality on a number line.

examples: x ≤ 7 (x is less than or equal to 7)

x

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

9 < z (9 is less than z)

z

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

On an inequality graph, an open circle is used for greater than and less than. A filled circle
is used for greater than or equal to and less than or equal to.

Write each inequality in words. Then graph each on the number line using a red colored
pencil or crayon.

1. a≥3 a is greater than or equal to 3

word form: ______________________________________________________
a

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2. 25 > q q is less than 25

word form: ______________________________________________________
q

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

3. t ≤ 17 t is less than or equal to 17

word form: ______________________________________________________
t

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

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 ANSWER KEY Single Variable

Introduction to Inequalities
Write the inequality shown by each number line.
a
4. a < 7 or 7 > a
answer: _______________
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
x
5. answer: x ≤ -6 or -6 ≥ x
_______________
-15 -14 -13 -12 -11 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5
v
6. answer: v_______________
≥ 31 or 31 ≤ v
30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
n
7. n > 2 or 2 < n
answer: _______________
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

Graph each inequality on the number line using a red colored pencil or crayon.
b
8. b≤0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

f
9. 14 < f
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

10. For the inequality k > 7, Chris says 6.5 and 6 are both solutions. Is he correct? Explain
why or why not.
No, Chris is not correct. The inequality states that k is greater than 7, so k

can only be numbers larger than 7.

11. For the inequality y ≤ 9, Jazmín says 9 and 0 are both solutions. Is she correct? Explain
why or why not.

Yes, Jazmín is correct. The inequality states that y is less than or equal to 9,

so y can be any number that is 9 or smaller.

12. Kavya is willing to spend $8 or less on a movie ticket. Show this amount on a number line.

$5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 $13 $14 $15

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CW