Final answer:
Inequalities are used to express the relationship between two values, with symbols indicating if one value is less than, greater than, or not equal to another. They can be applied in various contexts, from expressing the maximum age of cars to forming hypotheses in statistics or finding missing values in equations.
Step-by-step explanation:
To write statements in terms of inequalities, we use symbols like < (less than), ≤ (less than or equal to), > (greater than), ≥ (greater than or equal to), and ≠ (not equal to). An inequality shows the relationship between two values or expressions. For example, if we have the statement 'The age of a group of cars is at most 12 years,' this can be written as 'age ≤ 12 years.' Similarly, in the context of hypothesis testing, the alternative hypothesis (H₁) might state that a parameter is less than a specified value, which can be written as 'parameter < value.'
When covering up one number and solving for it with other information provided, you are effectively creating an equation or an inequality to find the missing value. This method can also be used to form equations that relate the rates of consumption of reactants and the rates of formation of products in chemistry.