Translating a Sentence into a One-Step Inequality


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We have already been introduced to inequalities, which show the relationship between two quantities that are not equal. Here sentences are given, which need to be translated into one-step inequalities.

Rules to write one-step inequalities

  • A sentence generally has three parts, the left, the middle and the right ones.

  • We proceed from the left part, which usually contains the variable and translate into an expression.

  • We write the inequality sign from the middle one.

  • We then write the expression for the right part of the sentence, which is usually a number.

The examples below explain the above rules

Nine subtracted from b is greater than or equal to −21

Solution

Step 1:

We start from the left and proceed towards the right

On the left, there is ‘9 subtracted from b’ and on the right, there is ‘−21’ and the inequality ‘greater than or equal to’ in the middle

Step 2:

‘Nine subtracted from b’ translates to b − 9

So, the statement “Nine subtracted from b is greater than or equal to −21” translates to

b −9 ≥ −21

Seven more than ‘a’ is less than or equal to 18

Solution

Step 1:

We start from the left and proceed towards the right

On the left, there is ‘7 more than ‘a’ ’ and on the right, there is ‘18’ and the inequality ‘less than or equal to’ in the middle

Step 2:

‘Seven more than from ‘a’ translates to a + 7

So, the statement “Seven added to a is less than or equal to 18” translates to

a + 7 ≤ 18

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