Nursing Entrance Exam

Nursing Preparation Study Guide

3.5.1 Inequalities The value of different numbers can be compared by their relative position on the number line. For instance, in the given number line below, is less than and is denoted by < , which means lies to the left of on the number line. We can also say > , that is is greater than and lies on the right side of the number line, relative to the position of . The mathematical representation for different expressions is given in the following table: Expressions Interpretations = is equal to < is less than > is greater than ≥ is greater than or equal to ≤ is less than or equal to ≠ is not equal to ≈ is approximately equal to The symbols <, >, ≥, ≤ and ≠ denote the signs of inequalities and the expressions using these signs of inequalities, < , > , ≥ , ≤ and ≠ denotes inequalities. We can make use of set- builder notation for these inequalities as well. For instance, = { | ≥ 2} means set represents all the values of such that is greater than or equal to 2. This can be shown graphically on the number line as follows: It must be noted that in the above number line, there is a closed bracket [ at 2, which means that 2 is also included in the expression. In contrast, the expression = { | > 2} is represented on the number line as follows:

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