PAss Functional Skills

Inequalities

Inequalities for A Level Physics AQA: what it means, how to set the working out, and the questions it is asked in.
  • A Level
  • AQA
  • Physics
  • Spec A18 · A5
  • 10 min read
  • 6 revision boxes

Introduction

2 boxes
4 min read

What is inequalities?

Listen to this box

Transcript

A short spoken summary of inequalities and where it is used.

A spoken walk-through of inequalities before you read the notes.
Sketch the shape even when the question does not ask for one — it makes the next step obvious.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing inequalities laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
4 rows

The inequalities reference table

Practise the routine version until it is automatic, then move to the multi-step questions.
Term
Meaning
Example
Common slip
Row 1 column 1
Row 1 column 2
×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left
Row 1 column 4
Row 2 column 1
Row 2 column 2
x2+5x+6=0x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0
Row 2 column 4
Row 3 column 1
Row 3 column 2
49=7\sqrt{49} = 7
Row 3 column 4
Row 4 column 1
Row 4 column 2
a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2
Row 4 column 4

Learning

2 boxes
4 steps

How to work with inequalities

The examiner marks the working, so a correct answer with no method still drops marks.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing inequalities laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for inequalities in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: 49=7\sqrt{49} = 7.
Answer: 49=7\sqrt{49} = 7
2 rules

Key facts: Inequalities

This idea appears again in the higher-mark questions, so it is worth over-learning.

  • Rule 1

    How inequalities behaves in the 1st of the cases the specification names.
    ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left

  • Rule 2

    How inequalities behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}

20 minutes

Get your predicted grade

Twenty questions gives you a predicted grade, your target, and the gap between them — plus the topics that close it fastest.
Get my predicted grade

Examples

2 boxes
2 marks · worked

Worked example: inequalities

The examiner marks the working, so a correct answer with no method still drops marks.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing inequalities laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Worth knowing: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left.
4 marks · worked

Practice question 6: ≈160\approx 160

Read the units in the question before you start; a converted unit is the most common slip.
Worth knowing: 49=7\sqrt{49} = 7.

Practice bank

Thousands of revision questions

Every topic is backed by graded practice with instant marking and full solutions.
Try it now
Practice questions
2,000+
Topics
10
Marking and solutions
Instant

Common questions

How many marks is inequalities usually worth?
Between one and four, depending on how many steps the question asks for.
Is this on the A Level Physics AQA paper?
Yes — it sits in the Cells and organisation strand.