How do you graph an inequality on a number line?

1 Answer
Tanish J.
Nov 28, 2014

Inequalities represent a range of values, rather than a single value.

Let's see some examples to understand better.

Let us consider the inequality
#x>2#

This would mean #x# can be any value greater than #2#, not including #2#.

This is represented by a line starting from #2#, and extending indefinitely (marked by an arrow head). Note that at #2#, there is a small empty circle which represents that #2# is not included.

enter image source here

In case the inequality was
#x>=2#

It would mean that #2# has also been included. Thus, the small circle on 2 would be filled, as:

enter image source here

In case you can't draw on the number line, you can also show the range just above the number.

If your inequality is
#5>x>=-2#

You can represent it as:

enter image source here

Following are some great examples that I got from here.

enter image source here

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