# Math Help - this may as well be chinese to me, so im not sure how to be more descriptive=(

1. ## this may as well be chinese to me, so im not sure how to be more descriptive=(

I just began class today.. I have no experience with any of this and the course work does not begin to explain it.. i googled the symbol "|" it tells me that it means "divided into" that tells my feeble mind that x/x=1; and so "1 is equal to or less than -4.25" obviously false... the solution gives me -infinity..... my brain hurts.... what do?

2. ## Re: this may as well be chinese to me, so im not sure how to be more descriptive=(

ps. i took a screen cap, because i dont even know how to key in those symbols

pss. i HATE math =(

3. ## Re: this may as well be chinese to me, so im not sure how to be more descriptive=(

Originally Posted by sloupok
That set is simply $\left(-\infty,\frac{17}{4}\right]$.

But I can't imagine that this is what was meant. Was it?

Could it have been $|x|\le\frac{17}{4}~?$

4. ## Re: this may as well be chinese to me, so im not sure how to be more descriptive=(

the first set you have is the correct answer, but i still have no idea what any of it means

5. ## Re: this may as well be chinese to me, so im not sure how to be more descriptive=(

Originally Posted by sloupok

I just began class today..
You're given this on your 1st day...by a teacher who gave no explanation?

6. ## Re: this may as well be chinese to me, so im not sure how to be more descriptive=(

| means "given that" ...so
find set of values of x given that | .......x<=17/4

7. ## Re: this may as well be chinese to me, so im not sure how to be more descriptive=(

Originally Posted by Wilmer
You're given this on your 1st day...by a teacher who gave no explanation?
yes exactly.

i was able to complete every other question on the assignment correctly with average of 97.6; excluding the problem given in OP, the assignment was easily understood
examples:

8. ## Re: this may as well be chinese to me, so im not sure how to be more descriptive=(

Originally Posted by MaxJasper
| means "given that" ...so
find set of values of x given that | .......x<=17/4

so "x is less than or equal to -4.25"?

what does the fraction -17/4 inbetween || mean?

9. ## Re: this may as well be chinese to me, so im not sure how to be more descriptive=(

|-17/4| means the ABSOLUTE VALUE or SIZE of -17/4. In other words, it's asking you how far away is -17/4 from 0?

10. ## Re: Prove It

so the actual charge is irrelevant to the solution?

just that the value of x is less than or equal to the difference to zero(+/-) of the value of the given?

so the answer set (-infinity,4.25) -Plato; is a ray from point (4.25,0) towards negative, infinitely along the x axis?

11. ## Re: this may as well be chinese to me, so im not sure how to be more descriptive=(

No, the absolute value is a DISTANCE. You can only ever have a POSITIVE value for a distance (so it turns all numbers positive). Therefore |-17/4| = 17/4, and the set x <= |-17/4| is the same as x <= 17/4. So in interval notation your answer is (-infinity, 17/4].

12. ## Re: this may as well be chinese to me, so im not sure how to be more descriptive=(

thank you all =D