Introdution to Inequalities

Introduction to Inequalities

An inequality is just a way of saying that two things are not the same or one is bigger than the other.

In a simple term, any equation without the sign of equality is known as inequality.

It means we are comparing two values instead of saying they are exactly equal.

Types of Inequalities

x is greater than y i.e. x > y

x is less than y i.e. x < y

x is less than or equal to y i.e. x <= y

x is greater than or equal to y i.e. x >= y

x is not equal to y i.e. x != y

x is lying in between range a1 and a2, a1 < x < a2. This is known as a compound inequality.

The main difference is that equations give you one answer, while inequalities give you a group of many possible answers.

The basic difference between an equation and an inequality is, an equation gives you the concrete result of a variable whereas an inequality only provides you with a range for the variable.

So, an equation points to one spot, but an inequality shows you a whole area.

For example, consider these two equations x = 3 and x > 3

The first equation gives you a single value, i.e. x = 3. While the second one is inequality and it does not provide any specific value of x, it only restricts the value of x i.e. x can’t be less than or equal to 3.

If we say x = 3, it is like saying a bottle of coke costs exactly 200 Naira. If we say x > 3, it is like saying the price is more than 3 Naira, so it could be 4, 5, or 100 Naira.