Absolute Value Inequalities in

Reality
What is an absolute value inequality?
• An absolute value inequality is an inequality
involving an absolute value.
• The absolute value of a number represents its
distance from zero.
• Absolute values are often used in inequalities to say
that your variable must fall within (or outside of) a
certain distance from a target.
• Example: if a factory produces cans and wants them
to be at most 0.1 ounces lighter or heavier than 16
ounces, we would say |x – 16| < 0.1.
• This tells us that the difference between the weight
of a can and 16 ounces must be less than 0.1.
How do we solve an absolute value
inequality?
To solve one of these equalities, we simply split
it into a compound inequality. If we have an
absolute value less than some number, i.e. |x| <
a, we split it into an “and” compound inequality:
-a < x < a. If we have an absolute value greater
than some number, i.e. |x| > a, we split it into an
“or” compound inequality:
x < -a or x > a. We can then solve each part of
the compound inequality separately.
Example
A ball producing factory
requires that all balls must
have a radius that is within 1
cm of 10 cm. What is the range
of possible values of the
volume of the balls?
Solution
Let r be the radius of the balls. We are told that
|r - 10| < 1.
Split this inequality into a compound inequality.
-1 < r – 10 < 1.
Now solve this compound inequality by adding 10 to
each part of it.
9 < r < 11.
To find the range of possible volumes, we use our
formula for the volume of a sphere: V = (4/3) * pi * r3.
We cube each part, then multiply by 4/3 * pi. We get
3053.6 < V < 5575.3
Our solution, then, is {V : 3053.6 < V < 5575.3}
Example
• A very strange kind of
aquarium plant can only
survive if the water is very
pure or very salty. If the
concentration of salt is 2% ±
1% by mass, the plant will die.
Otherwise, it will live. If you
have an aquarium that holds
exactly 50 kilograms of salt
water, write an inequality that
describes how much salt you
can put into the aquarium.
Solution
Let x be the amount of salt in the aquarium, in
kilograms. x/50 is the concentration of salt, then, so we
can say that
|x/50 – 0.2| > 0.1, since the concentration must not be
within 1% of 2%.
Splitting the inequality into a compound inequality, we
obtain
x/50 – 0.2 < -0.1 or x/50 – 0.2 > 0.1
In each case, by adding 0.2 to both sides and multiplying
both sides by 50, this simplifies to
x < 5 or x > 15
We must put in either less than 5 kilograms of salt or
more than 15.
Example
Say that a particular brand of oranges varies at
most 50 grams from their average weight of 200
grams. If oranges cost $0.04 per gram, what is
the range of possible costs for a bag of 15
oranges?
Solution
Let x be the weight of one orange. We are told that |x - 200| <
50. Splitting this into a compound inequality, we get
-50 ≤ x-200 ≤ 50.
Adding 200 to each part of the equation, we get
150 ≤ x ≤ 250.
Since the cost of a bag of oranges is the total cost of each
orange inside it, and the cost of each orange is equal to 0.04
times its weight, the cost of one bag is 0.04 * 15 * x. If we
multiply each part of our equation by 0.04 and 15, we get
$90 ≤ C ≤ $150
Where C is the cost of the bag. Those are some expensive
oranges!