Equations · Inequalities and systems of inequalities
Rational Inequalities
Your school's yearbook club is deciding how many copies to print. Printing $x$ yearbooks costs $\$500 + \$8x$, so the average cost per book is $\dfrac{500+8x}{x}$ dollars. The club wants that average to be less than $\$13$. How many copies do they need to print?
The unknown $x$ is in a denominator, so this is a rational inequality. You will answer the club's question in the section Cost, time, and rates. First you need a reliable method.
Sign charts, not cross-multiplying
With an equation you can clear a denominator by multiplying both sides. With an inequality that is risky. If you multiply by a negative number, the inequality flips. If you multiply by an expression like $x+3$, you don't know whether it is positive or negative until you know $x$.
Here is the sign chart for $\dfrac{x-4}{x+3} > 0$.
Look at the graph: it is above the $x$-axis exactly where the sign chart says the quotient is positive.
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Solve the following rational inequality, expressing its solution as an interval: $\frac{x-4}{x+3} > 0$
Solve the following rational inequality, expressing its solution as an interval:
When the numerator or denominator is a quadratic or higher-degree polynomial, factor it to find the critical numbers. Then use the signs of the individual factors to fill in a sign table.
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Find the solution interval of the rational inequality: $\frac{3x-9}{-x+4} \ge 0$
Find the solution interval of the rational inequality:
Something on the other side, or fractions on both sides
A sign chart only compares a fraction to $0$. If the inequality is $\dfrac{P(x)}{Q(x)}\gtrless k$ with $k\ne0$, or has fractions on both sides, move everything to one side and combine into a single fraction first.
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Find the solution set of the inequality: $\frac{x+3}{x-2} \ge 2$
Rational functions model average cost per item, travel time, and rates. The plan is always the same: translate the words into an inequality, solve it with a sign chart, then check that the answer makes sense (a number of items can't be negative, a speed must be positive).
Now we can answer the yearbook club's question from the start of the page.
Back to the club's question: since the number of books must be a whole number greater than $100$, the club needs to print at least 101 copies for the average cost to drop below $\$13$.
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The average daily cost (in dollars) of producing $x$ electronic components in a factory is given by the expression $C(x) = \frac{800+15x}{x}$. Determine for what…
The average daily cost (in dollars) of producing $x$ electronic components in a factory is given by the expression $C(x) = \frac{800+15x}{x}$. Determine for what production levels the average cost will be strictly less than $\$25$ per component.
The time $T$ (in hours) it takes a boat to travel a distance of $120$ miles downstream is modeled by $T(v) = \frac{120}{v+4}$, where $v$ is the boat's own speed in mph.…
The time $T$ (in hours) it takes a boat to travel a distance of $120$ miles downstream is modeled by $T(v) = \frac{120}{v+4}$, where $v$ is the boat's own speed in mph. For what speeds $v > 0$ will the journey be completed in less than $5$ hours?
The growth rate of a bacterial population (in thousands of bacteria per hour) as a function of time $t$ (in hours) is given by the function $R(t) = \frac{t^2-16}{t+2}$.…
The growth rate of a bacterial population (in thousands of bacteria per hour) as a function of time $t$ (in hours) is given by the function $R(t) = \frac{t^2-16}{t+2}$. In which time intervals $t \ge 0$ is the growth rate strictly positive?
Sometimes the denominator is always positive. Then multiplying by it is safe: it can't flip the inequality. Other times a formula has to be solved for one variable first.
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The concentration of a drug in the bloodstream, measured in mg/L, $t$ hours after its administration is given by the function $C(t) = \frac{4t}{t^2+4}$. During what time…
The concentration of a drug in the bloodstream, measured in mg/L, $t$ hours after its administration is given by the function $C(t) = \frac{4t}{t^2+4}$. During what time interval $t \ge 0$ is the drug concentration greater than or equal to $1$ mg/L?
In optics, the thin lens equation relates the focal length $f$, the object distance $p$, and the image distance $q$ using the formula…
In optics, the thin lens equation relates the focal length $f$, the object distance $p$, and the image distance $q$ using the formula $\frac{1}{f} = \frac{1}{p} + \frac{1}{q}$. If a lens with a focal length of $f = 12$ in. is used, determine for what object distances $p > 0$ the image distance $q$ will be greater than $24$ in.
The thermal efficiency index $E(r)$ of a cylindrical cooling system depends on the radius $r$ (in feet) of the ducts according to the function…
The thermal efficiency index $E(r)$ of a cylindrical cooling system depends on the radius $r$ (in feet) of the ducts according to the function $E(r) = \frac{r^2-4r+3}{r^2-6r+8}$. Engineers require this index to be strictly negative so that the system does not overheat. For what values of the radius $r > 0$ is the system safe? Support your answer using the graph of the function.
A square root is defined only when its radicand is $\ge 0$. If the radicand is a fraction, the domain comes from a rational inequality of the "$\ge 0$" type, which also excludes zeros of the denominator.
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Determine the domain of definition of the real function $f(x) = \sqrt{\frac{x^2-x-2}{x^2+4x+3}}$.
Determine the domain of definition of the real function $f(x) = \sqrt{\frac{x^2-x-2}{x^2+4x+3}}$.
Sometimes the question is: for which values of a constant $k$ does an inequality hold for every real $x$? When the denominator is always positive, everything depends on the numerator, and the discriminant decides.
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Determine for what values of the real parameter $k$ the following inequality is satisfied for all $x \in \mathbb{R}$: $\frac{x^2-kx+9}{x^2+1} > 0$
Determine for what values of the real parameter $k$ the following inequality is satisfied for all $x \in \mathbb{R}$: