How do signs change in an inequality?

Normal manipulation of inequalities does not affect the direction of the inequality such as:
addition
subtraction
multiplication or division by a positive number, 

 

The direction of the inequality will change by:
multiplication or division of a negative number
swapping the sides of the inequality

 

This can also be thought of a sign change, where the sides are swapped back to their original sides, but the signs change.

OZ
Answered by Oscar Z. Maths tutor

10573 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Jo wants to work out the solutions of x^2 + 3x – 5 = 0 She says, ‘‘The solutions cannot be worked out because x^2 + 3x – 5 does not factorise to (x + a)(x + b) where a and b are integers.’’ Is Jo correct?


You are given a square which you are told has a total area of 100 squared centimetres. You are also told that one side of the square has dimension 4(3x + 2), and the other has dimension 8x - y. What are the values of x and y?


simplify (2q+4)/(p(p+1)) -q/p


Solve the simultaneous equations: 2x + y = 12; x - y = 6


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning