forgot to disable HTML - sorry - ignore previous post - reposting
KillerSquirrel
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KillerSquirrel
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oops
what are the values of x that satisfy the ineq x + 1/x < 2.5?
not sure of given answer (will post later).
I am getting: 0.5 < x < 2
x + 1/x <2> [size=18]x^2 + 1 <2> x^2 - 2.5x + 1 <0> (x - 2)*(x - 0.5) <0>2, both terms are positive. For x<0.5, both terms are negative, hence, the product is positive.
So, the range of x satisfying the inequality should be 0.5 < x < 2.
what if x < 0 ?

You are right. x < 0 does satisfy the inequality. But what is wrong with my approach.

when you multply by x an inequality you need to be extra cerful. multiplying by a negative number will result in "sign flip" - hence whenever x < 0:
x + 1/x < 2.5
x^2 +1 > 2.5x

am glad you brought this up - is the same problem i had with the given solution. hence the reason i posted this question. the given solution actually flips the sign but still seems to give the wrong answer:
x + 1/x < 25/10
=> (x^2 + 1)/x < 25/10
case 1: x > 0:
10x^2 + 10 < 25x
=> (10x-5)(x-2) < 0
=> 1/2 < x < 2
case 2: x < 0:
10x^2 + 10 > 25x
=> (10x-5)(x-2) > 0
=> but x between 1/2 and 2 is not permissible since in this case, we are assuming x < 0 to begin with.
Hence the soln concludes that x is between 1/2 and 2, which seems incorrect, since if you simply inspect the given ineq x + 1/x < 2.5, any value of x that is -ve will satisfy the inequation. The solution set becomes: {x< 0} U {1/2<x<2}
My sense is that you have to consider 0 as another "pivotal" point since the inequation is (10x^2 + 10)/x > 25 (i.e. it is divided by x which if 0, will make it undefined) and inspect both sides of 0 as well. This is as far as my knowhow goes. For more on this topic, please search for postings by "Fig", the absolute-inequation expert and also "hobbit" (Fig or hobbit, if you happen to read this, please confirm/clarify. Thx)