The phrase is less than divides the sentence into what should be on the left-hand side and what should be on the right-hand side of the inequality.
Inequality:
8n < 72 Solution: n < 9
Practice makes perfect
We are given a word sentence and we want to write an inequality that it represents.
Eight times a number n is less than 72.
Every inequality has an inequality symbol and values or expressions on either side of this symbol. In this exercise, we have the phrase is less than, so we can identify that the inequality symbol should be <.
Eighttimes a numbern < 72.
On the left-hand side, we have the phrase Eight times a number n. These words tell us that n is a variable symbol and that the operation that will be used in our inequality is the multiplication. This is because of the word times.
Eight times a numbern < 72.
8 * n < 72
On the right-hand side, we have the constant 72. If we put these sides together, we have a complete inequality.
Eight times a numbern is less than 72.
8 * n < 72
Now let's solve this inequality. Remember that inequalities can be solved in the same way as equations — by performing inverse operations on both sides until the variable is isolated. The only difference is that when we divide or multiply by a negative number, we must reverse the inequality sign.
