Simple Inequality

Life is full of inequalities as can be seen in this photo.

In mathematics, numbers can be large or small. The expression:

x + 1 5

puts a condition on the unknown x that x + 1 must be greater than or equal to 5.

Each value of x that satisfies the condition is said to be a solution of this inequality. One solution is x = 4, another is x = 4.5, yet another x = 10.

The x-axis represents all real numbers from minus infinity to infinity. As you move left on the x-axis the numbers get smaller, as you move right they get larger.

To better understand inequalities and numbers on the x-axis, let's perform an experiment.

1. Move the mouse along the x-axis in the following diagram. It shows you points and their values on the x-axis. Each click marks a point on the diagram.

   
   

   
   

2. Now let's see a demo showing us ALL POINTS that satisfy the inequality

   x + 1 5

   Move the mouse along the x-axis to see points satisfying (green) or violating (red) the inequality.

   Click on the character x in the diagram above to reveal a demo button.

3. Now let's see a demo showing us ALL POINTS that satisfy the inequality

   x + 1 5

   Move the mouse along the x-axis to see points satisfying (green) or violating (red) the inequality.

   Click on the character x in the diagram above to reveal a demo button.