Final answer:
To define the acceptable number of words in an essay, we can use x to represent the number of words. The inequality for this is x ≥ 500, and the solutions can be graphed on a number line.
Step-by-step explanation:
Acceptable Number of Words in an Essay
To define a variable for the acceptable number of words in an essay, let's use 'x' to represent the number of words. Since the essay must be
at least 500 words long
to be accepted, the inequality we can write is: x ≥ 500
To graph the solutions on a number line, we would represent all the numbers from 500 and above as shaded on the right side of the number line. The endpoint 500 would be included in the solution set because the inequality includes 'greater than or equal to'.