The phrase is at most divides the sentence into what should be on the left-hand side and what should be on the right-hand side of the inequality.
x ÷ 3≤ 5
Practice makes perfect
We are given a word sentence and we want to write an inequality that it represents.
A number x divided by 3 is at most 5.
Every inequality has an inequality symbol and values or expressions on either side of this symbol. In this exercise, we have the phrase is at most, so we can identify that the inequality symbol should be ≤.
A number x divided by 3 ≤ 5.
On the left-hand side, we have the phrase A number x divided by 3. These words tell us that x is a variable symbol and that the operation that will be used in our inequality is the division. This is because of the word divided.
A number x divided by 3 ≤ 5.
x ÷ 3 ≤ 5
On the right-hand side, we have the constant 5. If we put these sides together, we have a complete inequality.
A number x divided by 3 is at most 5.
x ÷ 3 ≤ 5
