Translate the inequality and solve. One-third of a number is no less than six

Answer 1

1/3 of a number

"a number" is our variable, the number we'll solve for, let's call it n

So, we get ...

1/3 n

The above is "no less than six"

this means it is at least six,in other words greater than or equal to 6, so we get

≥ 6

Write the inequality and solve>

1/3 n ≥ 6 (to isolate n, multiply both sides by 3)

n ≥ 18

There is your solution. The above statement is true for all variables n ≥ 18.

Check:

1/3 of 18 = 6

1/3 of 21 = 7

Answer 2

Hi Justyce,

I would start with translating the words into numerical terms.

Let's define our own variable 'x' as the "number" that is referred to in the problem. Then, we can rewrite the statement as: 1/3 of x is no less than 6.

1/3 of x is equiavalent to saying 1/3 * x.

Now we need to set up an inequality with 1/3*x and 6 to translate the problem.

To set up the inequality with 1/3 * x and 6, let's use: 1/3 * x ? 6

Note that we will need to replace the question mark with an inequality symbol( >, <, ≥, ≤) in order to set up our inequality.

The problem says that 1/3*x is no less than 6, which is the same as saying 1/3*x is greater than or equal to 6.

Using the hint above, we can choose the right inequality symbol and then solve for the inequality using multiplication on both sides.