Inequalities
Compiled by: Nyasha P. Tarakino (Trockers)
+263772978155/+263717267175
ntarakino@[Link]
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
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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Nyasha P. Tarakino (Trockers)
+263772978155/+263717267175
ntarakino@[Link]
Tarakino N.P. (Trockers) ~ 0772978155/ 0717267175
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