Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Math Blog (Extra Credit)

Inequalities

In math class we learned about inequalities. An inequality is "a statement formed by placing an inequality symbol between two expressions." Inequalities can be multiplied, divided, subtracted or added together. An example of one would be: "x-2>5". To solve it, first you would add 2 to both sides. Then your equation will look like this: x>7. Therefore if you were to graph this inequality there would be an open dot and the arrow would be going to the right.

Three Interesting Facts Are...
* If you are multiplying or dividng by a negative number then you must switch the inequality sign.
* The arrow in the inequality shows you which way to make the line on your graph go.
* When you add, subtract, divide, or multiply a number you have to do it to the other side too. Whatever you do to one side you have to do to the other.

In my opinion inequalities are a great thing to know how to do. Nothing in life is always exact, and knowing how to solve inequalities may help you out later in life. Inequalities are easy to learn, but sometimes confusing. You have to know the basic rules such as switching the inequalitiy sign at the right time and problem and knowing that whatever you do to one side you have to do to the other. Overall, inequalities are a very significant and useful part of math.