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

11541 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

There are 30 yellow sweets and 10 black sweets in a bag. Two sweets are taken out at random without replacement. Work out the probability that the two sweets are the same colour.


The sides of an equilateral triangle are given by the expressions x+y, 2y-1 and 3y-2x+1. Find the values of x and y.


In a school 2/5 students play an instrument. Of those students 3/7 play the violin. Find the ratio of students who play the violin compared to the students who do not play the violin.


Solve the equation (x+2)/(x-3)=(x-6)/(x+1) for x.


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:

© 2026 by IXL Learning