If the 4th range was negative, then the third is positive, the second is negative and the fist positive? Does this rule apply when you have 3 ranges also?
macjas
How many of the integers that satisfy the inequality \(\frac{(x+2)(x+3)}{x-2}\geq{0}\) are less than 5?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
E. 5
Given: \(\frac{(x+2)(x+3)}{x-2}\geq{0}\).
The roots of the expression \(\frac{(x+2)(x+3)}{x-2}\) are -3, -2, and 2 (equate the expressions to zero to find the roots and list them in ascending order). This gives us four ranges: \(x<-3\), \(-3\leq{x}\leq{-2}\), \(-2<x<2\), and \(x>2\). Note that since we have the \(\geq\) sign, we should include -3 and -2 in the ranges but not 2, as \(x=2\) would make the denominator zero, and we cannot divide by zero.
Now, test an extreme value: for example, if \(x\) is a very large number, then all three terms will be positive, which gives a positive result for the whole expression. Therefore, when \(x>2\), the expression is positive. Here’s the trick: if in the 4th range the expression is positive, then in the 3rd range it will be negative, in the 2nd range positive again, and finally negative in the 1st range:
- + - +. Thus, the ranges when the expression is positive are: \(-3\leq{x}\leq{-2}\) (2nd range) and \(x>2\) (4th range).
\(-3\leq{x}\leq{-2}\) and \(x>2\) mean that the only four integers less than 5 that satisfy the given inequality are: -3, -2, 3, and 4
Answer: D.
Solving inequalities:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/x2-4x-94661.html#p731476https://gmatclub.com/forum/inequalities ... 91482.htmlhttps://gmatclub.com/forum/everything-i ... me#p868863https://gmatclub.com/forum/xy-plane-714 ... ic#p841486Hope it helps.