Solving Inequalities for Kids

Introduction:

Inequality is one of the sub topics of algebra. The inequality itself describes the meaning that it is not equal. An inequality is defined as, the size or order of two objects or about whether they are the same or not. Solving inequalities is very much similar to solving linear equations, except for one small but important change: Inequality problems are easy to solve. There are single step inequality and multi step inequality. Solving inequalities for kids involves single step solving. It is not as much as hard to solve.

Rules for Solving Inequalities

The following steps are to be followed while solving inequalities,

Step1: Adding/subtracting the constants on both sides.

Step2: Switching sides and changing the direction of the inequality sign.

Step3: Multiplying/dividing by the same number on both sides and change the symbol according to the positive and negatice sign.

Some of the notations and symbols of inequalities is given below,

The notation a < b means “a” is less than b.
The notation a > b means “a” is greater than b.
The notation a ? b means “a” is not equal to b,
The notation a = b means “a” is less than or equal to b (or, equivalently, not  greater than b)
The notation a = b means “a” is greater than or equal to b

Solving Inequalities Problem for Kids:

Example problem for kids: 1

Solve 5x + 15 > 55

Solution:

5x + 15 > 55

Subtract 15 on both sides

5x + 15 – 1 5 > 55 – 1 5

5x > 40

Divide 5 on both sides,

5x/5 > 40/5

x > 8.

The answer is x > 8.

Example problem for kids: 2

Solve: y + 28 =  +15

Solution:

y + 28 = 15

Subtract 28 on both sides,

y + 28 – 28 = 15 – 28

y  = -13

The answer is y = - 13.


Example problem for kids : 3

Solve: 2y - 28  =  -10

Solution:

2y - 28  =  -10

Add 28 on both sides,

2y - 28 + 28 = -10 + 28

2y = 18

Divide 2 on both sides,

2y/2 = 18/2

y = 9

The answer is 9.