Use an inequality to solve the problem. Be sure to show the inequality and all of your work. One side of a rectangle is 6 inches and the other side is x inches. Find the possible values of x if the area must be at least 84 square inches.

Question

kainui · Answer

First off, draw it out and consider what the maximum and minimum lengths x can be, if there is a maximum or minimum that is.

anonymous · Answer

im new to this kind of math this is first time back in school in 12 years

kainui · Answer

Alright, that's fine. I'll help you out then. Let's look at a rectangle with one side of 6 inches and another side of x with an area of 84 square inches.|dw:1344801274317:dw| So what is the smallest value x can be to give you an area of at least 84 square inches? Well let's look at the formula for area,

Area=length * width

A=84 in^2
l=6 in
w=x

84=6x

Now that is an equation for if the area is only 84 inches, however the question is asking for an area of AT LEAST 84 square inches.

So do we replace the equals sign with: $$<, >, \le, or \ge $$

Take a guess and tell me why you might think so.