Mathematical Inequalities

When two numbers are different in value, a variety of symbols are used to turn them into an inequality. The four most common inequalities in arithmetic are:

• Greater than (>) means that the first number or expression is greater than the second:

  5 > 41,000 > 1002 > –2

• Less than (<) means that the first number or expression is less than the second:

  7 < 91,776 < 1,777–5 < 0

• Doesn’t equal (≠) means that the two numbers or expressions aren’t equal:

  2 ≠ 33 ≠ 2–17 ≠ 17

• Approximately equals (≈) means that the two numbers or expressions are close in value:

  999 ≈ 1,00014.001 ≈ 141,000,823 ≈ 1,000,000