urstruely said:
i dont understand a thing about inequalities when it has more than one number on each side. how do i get one answer. i know that u use the distributive property but i always get the answer wrong. can u give some examples and tell me wat to do step by step. :!:
The very best way to get a helpful answer here is to
1) Post an example of a problem you are having trouble with
2) Show us, step by step, what you have done to solve the problem
That way, we know exactly what you are asking about, and can see where you have made any mistakes in the solution.
Your question, as posted, requires us to be "mind readers." I, for one, am not very good at reading minds.
All of that said, I will take a guess that you are dealing with problems like this one:
5x - 4 < 2x + 17
Do you realize that solving inequalities is just like solving equations--with one exception. If you multiply or divide both sides of an inequality by a negative number, you need to switch the direction of the inequality symbol. With this in mind, let's solve this inequality.
The first thing we want to do is eliminate the variable term from one side. It is generally a good idea to get rid of the
smaller variable term. In this problem, the smaller variable term is 2x; let's add -2x to both sides of the inequality:
5x - 4 + (-2x) < 2x + 17 + (-2x)
Now, combine like terms:
3x - 4 < 17
Next, isolate the variable term (get it by itself). Add 4 to both sides to get rid of the " - 4":
3x - 4 + 4 < 17 + 4
Combine like terms again:
3x < 21
Finally, we want 1x, or just x. To "undo" the multiplication by 3, we need to divide both sides of the inequality by 3. Since we are dividing by a positive number, the direction of the inequality symbol stays the same:
(3x)/3 < 21/3
x < 7
Now we know that the original inequality should be true for any value of x which is less than 7.
If I haven't guessed correctly at the kind of problem you need help with, it is because my crystal ball is dusty and doesn't always give me a clear view of things.