Chapter 2

Get Real!: Wrestling with Real Numbers

In This Chapter
䊳 Finding solutions to equations with inequalities
䊳 Using interval notation to express inequality
䊳 Simplifying radicals and exponents
䊳 Rationalizing the denominator

W hen you build a house, you start by preparing your site and laying your foundation.
In Chapter 1, we found and graded the site and started the foundation, but now it’s
time to make sure that the foundation is set in place before we start building the frame. Pre-
calculus, like a sturdy house, has to be based on a solid foundation. In this case, our house
is based on Algebra I and II skills. Consider algebra the mortar between your pre-calc bricks.
We’re going to refresh your memory and cement you with some of those basic skills.

In this chapter, we assume that you know most of your algebra skills well, so we review only
the tougher concepts in algebra — the ones that give a lot of our students trouble if they
don’t review them. In addition to reviewing inequalities, radicals, and exponents, we also
introduce a purely pre-calculus idea: interval notation. If you feel confident with the other
review sections in this chapter, feel free to skip ahead, but make sure you practice some of
the interval notation problems before moving on to Chapter 3. For those of you who aren’t
sure how solid your cemented foundation is, let’s get brickin’!

Solving Inequalities
Solving inequalities is very similar to solving basic equations, which we assume you know
solidly by now. There are a few subtle differences, which we’ll take the time to review and
practice here.

First, remember that an inequality is a mathematical sentence indicating that two expressions
aren’t equal. Inequalities are expressed using the following symbols:

Greater than: >

Greater than or equal to: ≥
Less than: <
Less than or equal to: ≤

Solving equations with inequalities is exactly the same as solving equations with equalities,
with one key exception: multiplying and dividing by negative numbers.

When you multiply or divide each side of an inequality by a negative number, you must
switch the direction of the inequality symbol. In other words, < becomes > and vice versa.
26 Part I: Foundation (And We Don’t Mean Makeup!)

This is also a good time to put together two key concepts: inequalities and absolute
values, or absolute value inequalities. With these, you need to remember that absolute
values have two possible solutions: one when the quantity in the absolute value bars
is positive, and one when it’s negative. Therefore, you have to solve for these two pos-
sible solutions.

The easiest way to do this is to drop the absolute value bars and apply this simple rule:

becomes ax ± b < c AND ax ± b > –c

becomes ax ± b > c OR ax ± b < –c

Need an easy way to remember this? Notice the pattern: < is AND, while > is OR. Just
think: “less thAND” and “greatOR than.”

The solutions for these absolute value inequalities can be expressed graphically, as fol-
lows in Figure 2-1.

Figure 2-1:
Graphical
solution for
.

One more trick those pesky pre-calculus professors may try and pull on you has to do
with absolute value inequalities involving negative numbers. You may encounter two
possible scenarios:

⻬ If the absolute value is less than or equal to a negative number, a solution

doesn’t exist. Because an absolute value must be positive, it can never be less
than a negative number. For example, doesn’t have a solution.
⻬ If the absolute value is greater than or equal to a negative number, there are
infinite solutions, and the answer is all real numbers. Here, because an absolute
value indicates a positive solution and a positive number is always greater than a
negative number, an absolute value is always greater than a negative number. For
instance, it doesn’t matter which number you plug into the equation ,
you always get a true statement. Therefore, the solution to the statement is all
real numbers.

Q. Solve for x in 5 – 2x > 4. Q. Solve for x in .

A. x < 1⁄2. Start by subtracting 5 from each side, A. x ≥ 2 or x ≤ –4. First, you have to isolate
giving you –2x > –1. Next, divide both sides the absolute value. To do this, add 3 to
by –2 (don’t forget to switch that inequal- both sides. Next, drop the absolute value
ity!), giving you x < 1⁄2. bars and set up your two equations:
4x + 4 ≥ 12 OR 4x + 4 ≤ –12. Solving each
algebraically, you get x ≥ 2 or x ≤ –4.
 Chapter 2: Get Real!: Wrestling with Real Numbers 27
1. Solve for x in . 2. Solve for x in x2 – 5x – 20 > 4.

Solve It Solve It

3. Solve for x in . 4. Solve for x in x3 – 5x > 4x2.

Solve It Solve It
28 Part I: Foundation (And We Don’t Mean Makeup!)

Expressing Inequality Solutions

in Interval Notations
Pre-calc newbie, listen up. This is something you probably didn’t experience in alge-
bra. Interval notation, although scary sounding, is simply another way of expressing a
solution set. Why have another way to write the same thing? Well, this notation is
important to know because it’s the one most often used in pre-calculus and calculus.
And because we know you’re incredibly dedicated to becoming a math wizard (uh-
huh), you need to know how to cast this spell.

The key to writing a solution in interval notation is to locate the beginning and end of a
set of solutions. You can do this by using inequality notation or by visualizing the solu-
tion by graphing it. After you locate your key points, you need to decide which type of
interval you’re dealing with: open interval (> or <) or closed interval (≥ or ≤).

⻬ Open interval is indicated by an open circle at a point on a graph and by paren-

theses in interval notation.
⻬ Closed interval is indicated by a solid circle at a point on a graph and by brack-
ets for interval notation.

For example, the solution set –4 ≤ x < 3, shown in Figure 2-2, can be rewritten in inter-
val notation as [–4, 3). Another way to think of this solution set is x ≥ –4 AND x < 3.

Figure 2-2:
Graph of
–4 ≤ x < 3. –4 3

To indicate a solution set that includes non-overlapping sections (also known as dis-
jointed sets), you need to state all the intervals of the solution separated by the word
OR. For example, to write the solution set of x < 2 or x ≥ 5 (as shown in Figure 2-3), you
need to write both intervals in interval notation: (–⬁, 2)艛[5, ⬁). The symbol between the
two sets is the union symbol (艛). It means that the solution can belong in either interval.

You always use open interval notation (parentheses) for ⬁ or – ⬁ because they’re not
real numbers.

Figure 2-3:
Graph of
x < 2 or
x ≥ 5. 2 5
 Chapter 2: Get Real!: Wrestling with Real Numbers 29
Q. Write the solution for 5 – 2x > 4 in interval Q. Graph the interval set (–2, 3]艛(5, ⬁) on a
notation. number line.

A. (1⁄2, ⬁). We solve this in the previous sec- A. Figure 2-4. Start by putting your key points
tion, so we just have to write the answer in on the number line. Then draw either solid
interval notation. or open circles on your key points, depend-
ing on whether they’re closed or open
intervals. Last, shade.

Figure 2-4:
Graph of
(–2, 3]艛
(5, ⬁). –2 3 5

5. Write the solution for the solution of 6. Write the solution for the solution of
in interval notation. x3 – 5x > 4x2 in interval notation, and graph
the solution on a number line.
Solve It
Solve It

7. Graph the interval set (– ⬁, –7)艛[–5, 2)艛 8. Graph the solution of .

(4, ⬁) on a number line.
Solve It
Solve It
36 Part I: Foundation (And We Don’t Mean Makeup!)

Answers to Problems on Real Numbers

a Solve for x in . The answer is x > 8 or x < –4.
Start by dropping the absolute value bars and setting up your two equations: 4 – 2x > 12
or 4 – 2x < –12. Solve algebraically (careful when you divide by that negative!): –2x > 8 or
–2x < –16; x < –4 or x > 8.
b Solve for x in x2 – 5x – 20 > 4. The answer is x > 8 or x < –3.
First, you need to recognize that we’re dealing with a quadratic here. To solve a quadratic, you
need to isolate it. (If you need to review quadratics, skip ahead to Chapter 4). Start by subtract-
ing 4 from each side: x2 – 5x – 24 > 0. Next, factor your quadratic: (x – 8)(x + 3) > 0. Now what?
Don’t worry; we’ll lead you through this! Setting each factor to 0 gives you your key points: 8
and –3. If you put these on a number line, you can see that you have three possible solutions:
less than –3, between –3 and 8, or greater than 8. All you have to do is plug in numbers in each
interval to see if you get a positive or negative number. Because you’re looking for a solution
that’s greater than 0, you need a positive result when you multiply your factors, (x – 8) and
(x + 3), together. In other words, you want both of your factors to be positive or both of them to
be negative. Looking at the number line in the following figure, you see that your solutions are
x > 8 or x < –3. Whew!

(x – 8) negative (x – 8) negative (x – 8) positive

(x + 3) negative (x + 3) positive (x + 3) positive
–3 8

c Solve for x in . The answer is all real numbers.

Begin by isolating the absolute value by subtracting 15 from each side, giving you .
Remember that absolute values are positive and therefore greater than any negative. No matter
what you plug in for x, you get a positive number. So, the solution is all real numbers!
d Solve for x in x3 – 5x > 4x2. The answer is x > 1 or 0 > x > –5.
First, if you need a refresher on solving polynomials and quadratics, skip ahead to Chapter 4.
For this problem, start by gathering all your variables to one side of the equation by subtract-
ing 4x2 from each side: x3 + 4x2 – 5x > 0. Next, factor out x from each term: x(x2 + 4x – 5) > 0.
Then factor the quadratic: x(x – 5)(x – 1) > 0. Setting your factors equal to 0, you can find your
key points. Put these points on a number line. Plug in test numbers from each possible section
to determine whether the factor would be positive or negative. Then, given that you’re looking
for a positive solution, think about the possibilities: (+)(+)(+) = (+),(+)(+)(–) = (–),(–)(+)(–) =
(+),(–)(–)(–) = (–). Therefore, your solution is x > 1 or 0 > x > –5.
e Write the solution for the solution of in interval notation. The answer is (–⬁, ⬁ ).
Recognize this one? We solved it in practice problem 3. The solution is all real numbers, and
you write that in interval notation by writing it as infinity to negative infinity. Cool, huh?
f Write the solution of x3 – 5x > 4x2 in interval notation, and graph the solution on a number line.
The answer is (–5, 0)艛(1, ⬁ ).
Oops, we did it again! This one came from practice problem 4. The graph looks like this:

–5 0 1
 Chapter 2: Get Real!: Wrestling with Real Numbers 37
g Graph the interval set (–⬁,–7)艛[–5, 2)艛(4, ⬁ ) on a number line.

–7 –5 2 4

h Graph the solution of .

Start by dropping the absolute value sign and setting up your two equations: 2x – 1 ≤ 3 and
2x – 1 ≥ –3. Then solve each to find your solution: 2x ≤ 4 and 2x ≥ –2; x ≤ 2 and x ≥ –1. These can
also be rewritten as –1 ≤ x ≥ 2, which can be graphed as follows:

–1 2
4
i Simplify 27 3
. The answer is 81.
First, recognize that you can think of this problem in two ways: and . Either way
gives you the correct answer, but one is easier to deal with than the other. Starting with ,
order of operations tells us to take the 27 to the power of 4 first, giving us: . Ew! No fun!
If we choose to deal with the problem written like this: , then it’s much easier. Order of
operations here tells us to take the cube root of 27, which is 3, then take 3 to the 4th power,
which is 81. Ah . . . much better. By the way, the cube root of 531,441 is 81 as well, but we won’t
make you memorize it.
5 4
j Solve for x in x 3
− 6x = x 3
. The answer is x = 0, –8, 27.
Begin by bringing all the terms to one side in descending order: . Next, factor

out an x from each term: x x ( 2

3
−x
1
3
)
− 6 = 0 . Then, you can see that the resulting quadratic is
2
similar to y(y – y – 6), which factors into y(y + 2)(y – 3). Similarly, you can factor x x ( 2
3
−x
1
3
)
−6 =0

into x x ( 1
3
+2 x )( 1
3
)
− 3 = 0 . Then, setting each factor equal to 0 and simplifying, you can find

your three solutions:

(
x x
1
3
+2 x)( 1
3
−3 =0 )
1 1
x=0 x 3
+2=0 x 3
−3=0
1 1
x 3
= −2 x 3
=3

( x ) = ( −2 ) ( x ) = (3)
3 3
1 3 1 3
3 3

x = –8 x = 27

k Solve for x in x − 3 − 5 = 0 . The answer is x = 28.

Start by isolating the radical by adding 5 to each side, giving you . Next, square both
sides to get rid of the square root. This gives you , which simplifies to x – 3 = 25,
which is the same as x = 28.