Example

Example: Solving and Graphing 2−5x≤−32 - 5x \leq -3 or 5+2x≤35 + 2x \leq 3

To solve the compound inequality 2−5x≤−32 - 5x \leq -3 or 5+2x≤35 + 2x \leq 3, evaluate each inequality separately. For the first inequality, subtracting 22 yields −5x≤−5-5x \leq -5, and dividing by −5-5 (reversing the inequality sign) gives x≥1x \geq 1. For the second inequality, subtracting 55 yields 2x≤−22x \leq -2, and dividing by 22 gives x≤−1x \leq -1. Graphing both results demonstrates that the union consists of two distinct intervals: numbers less than or equal to −1-1 and numbers greater than or equal to 11. In interval notation, this combined solution is written as (−∞,−1]∪[1,∞)(-\infty, -1] \cup [1, \infty).

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Updated 2026-06-29

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