Math 1 · Lesson 6 · part 2 of 6
Gator eats greater
The sign in the middle of an inequality is a gator's open mouth, and the gator is always hungry for the...
Gator eats greater
The sign in the middle of an inequality is a gator's open mouth, and the gator is always hungry for the bigger number. The open side faces the big number. The point faces the small one. Read it out loud both ways until it is automatic.
Two of the signs have a little bar under them: ≤ and ≥. The bar means or equal to. So x ≤ 5 is true for every number smaller than 5, and for 5 itself. Without the bar, x < 5 stops just short of 5.
Strict: x < 5
Every number smaller than 5. The 5 itself does not count. On a number line the boundary gets an open circle.
Or equal to: x ≤ 5
Every number smaller than 5, and 5 too. The boundary gets a closed circle.