Math Prep 2020

Module 3.3: Quadratic Inequalities

References:
• Precalculus. De Las Peñas, Francisco, Marcelo (editors), (2010)
• A Course in Freshman Algebra. Quimpo, N.F. (editor) (2013).

What makes an inequality quadratic?

A quadratic inequality in one variable, say x is an inequality that can be transformed

into one of the form ax2 +bx+c ? 0, where a 6= 0 and ? is one of the four inequality
symbols.

There are a number of ways to solve quadratic inequalities. If you have already
mastered one or more of these, you are free to still use them. In this lesson, we will focus
on using the following procedure.

Solving Quadratic Inequalities

1. Apply properties of inequalities to transform the inequality into the form

x2 + bx + c ? 0,

where ? may be one of the four inequality symbols: <, ≤, >, ≥.

• In this step, it is important that the coefficient of x2 is +1, which we usually
do not write anymore.
• Moreover, the right-hand side should be 0.
• Depending on the given, the terms bx or c may not appear.
2. Factor the expression x2 + bx + c into the form (x − r)(x − s).
• Depending on the given, we may need to use the quadratic formula to get the
numbers r and s in the factorization.
• If it is not possible to factor (i.e. r and s are imaginary), then this implies
that x2 + bx + c is either always positive or always negative. In this case, the
solution set is either (−∞, ∞) or ∅.
3. Suppose r ≤ s. With the inequality in the form (x − r)(x − s) ? 0, we can now
construct a table of signs as follows:
x ∈ (−∞, r) (r, s) (s, ∞)
sign of (x − r)(x − s) ? ? ?

We can determine the solution set of the inequality by (a) completing the table of
signs above and (b) noting that r and s are the values of x that make (x−r)(x−s)
equal to 0.
Let us apply this procedure in solving the following examples.

Example

Solve the following quadratic inequalities.

1. x(x − 1) > 0
2. 2x2 + 3x − 1 ≤ 6 − 2x
3. 3x2 < 12
4. x2 > 1 − x
5. x2 > −1 − x

Solution.
1. Note that x(x − 1) = (x − 0)(x − 1) so the left-hand side is already in the form
(x − r)(x − s). Thus, we can proceed directly to Step 3. We construct the following
table of signs:1
x ∈ (−∞, 0) (0, 1) (1, ∞)
sign of x(x − 1) + − +

Since we want x(x − 1) > 0, we want the intervals where its sign is +; that is we want
x to be in (−∞, 0) or (1, ∞). Moreover, x = 0 and x = 1 make x(x − 1) = 0, which is
contrary to x(x − 1) > 0; thus, x = 0 and x = 1 are not in the solution set. Therefore,
the solution set is (−∞, 0) ∪ (1, ∞) .
Note: If we had divided both sides by x, we would have gotten x − 1 > 0, whose solu-
tion set is (1, +∞). Clearly, this is not the complete answer. As previously explained,
this illustrates why we should not multiply/divide both sides of an inequality with a
variable expression whose sign we are not sure of!
2. Step 1:

2x2 + 3x − 1 < 6 − 2x ⇐⇒ 2x2 + 3x − 1 + 2x − 6 ≤ 6 − 2x + 2x − 6

⇐⇒ 2x2 + 5x − 7 ≤ 0
   
2 1 1
⇐⇒ (2x + 5x − 7) ≤0
2 2
5 7
⇐⇒ x2 + − ≤ 0
2 2
Step 2: The expression x2 + 25 − 72 can be factored as (x − 1) x + 27 .2

Step 3: Our inequality is now (x − 1) x + 72 ≤ 0. We construct the following table

of signs:
x ∈
(−∞, − 72 ) (− 72 , 1) (1, ∞)
sign of (x − 1) x + 72 + − +

Since we want (x−1) x + 72 ≤ 0, we want

7 7

the intervals where its sign is −. Moreover,
x = − 2 and x = 1 make (x − 1) x + 2 = 0, which is not contrary to our desired
1
One way to do this is to get a test value from each interval and plug it into x(x − 1) to get the
corresponding sign.
2
This factorization can be obtained with some trial-and-error. But a sure method is to use the
quadratic formula.
 inequality; thus, x = − 27 and x = 1 are in the solution set. Therefore, the solution
 
7
set is − , 1 .
2
3. Step 1:

3x2 < 12 ⇐⇒ 3x2 − 12 < 0

   
2 1 1
⇐⇒ (3x − 12) <0
3 3
2
⇐⇒ x − 4 < 0

Step 2: The expression x2 − 4 is a difference of two squares wo we can factor it as

(x − 2)(x + 2).
Step 3: Our inequality is now (x − 2)(x + 2) < 0. We construct the following table of
signs:
x ∈ (−∞, −2) (−2, 2) (2, ∞)
sign of (x − 2)(x + 2) + − +

Since we want (x − 2)(x + 2) < 0, we want the intervals where its sign is −. Moreover,
x = −2 and x = 2 make (x−2)(x+2) = 0, which is contrary to our desired inequality;
thus, x = −2 and x = 2 are in the solution set. Therefore, the solution set is (−2, 2) .

Note: Some of you may be wondering why we couldn’t solve the inequality as follows:
√ √
3x2 < 12 ⇐⇒ x2 < 4 ⇐⇒ x2 < 4 ⇐⇒ x < 2 or ± 2

Since this “solution” gives us a wrong answer, something here must be incorrect. The
key reason is that “taking the square root of both sides of an inequality” is not as
√
straightforward as you might expect. But the bigger picture is how the is actually
defined and should be used. You can get a complete explanation by reading the article
entitled “The Square Root” here: https://tinyurl.com/TheSquareRoot, which we
have also linked in our Canvas module.
4. Step 1: x2 ≥ 1 − x ⇐⇒ x2 + x − 1 ≥ 0
Step 2: It is not that straightforward to factor x2 + x − 1 into the form (x − r)(x − s).
In this case, we will use the quadratic formula: The roots of x2 + x − 1 are
p √
−1 ± 12 − 4(1)(−1) −1 ± 5
= ;
2(1) 2

hence,
√ ! √ !
−1 + 5 −1 − 5
x2 + x − 1 = x− x− .
2 2
√ √
−1 − 5 −1 + 5
Note that < .
2 2
 √  √ 
−1+ 5 −1− 5
Step 3: Our inequality is now x− 2
x − 2
≥ 0. We construct the
following table of signs:
  √   √ √   √ 
x∈ −∞, −1−2 5 −1− 5 −1+ 5
2
, 2
−1+ 5
2
, ∞
 √  √ 
−1+ 5 −1− 5
x− 2
x − 2
+ − +
 √  √ 
−1+ 5 −1− 5
Since we want x− 2 x− 2 ≥ 0, we want the intervals where its sign is
√ √  √  √ 
+. Moreover, x = −1+2 5 and x = −1−2 5 make x − −1+2 5 x − −1−2 5 = 0, which
√ √
−1+ 5
is not contrary to our desired inequality; thus, x = and x = −1−2 5 are in the
2
√ # " √ !
−1 − 5 −1 + 5
solution set. Therefore, the solution set is −∞, ∪ ,∞ .
2 2

5. Step 1: x2 > −1 − x ⇐⇒ x2 + x + 1 > 0

Step 2: It is not that straightforward to factor x2 + x + 1 into the form (x − r)(x − s).
In this case, we will use the quadratic formula: The roots of x2 + x + 1 are
p √
−1 ± 12 − 4(1)(1) −1 ± −5
= ,
2(1) 2

which are imaginary. This means that x2 + x + 1 is either always positive or always
negative. We can check which of the two holds by plugging in any value of x: when
x = 0, x2 + x + 1 = 1, which is positive. Therefore, x2 + x + 1 must be always positive.
This means the inequality x2 + x + 1 > 0 is always true; that is, the solution set is
(−∞, ∞) .