document.write( "Question 1183959: Please help me find the solution set to the inequality\r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "|1 - 4x^2| - |11x - 12 - 2x^2| <= 1.\r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Thank you.
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Algebra.Com's Answer #814491 by greenestamps(13200)\"\" \"About 
You can put this solution on YOUR website!


\n" ); document.write( "By far the easiest way to find the solution set is with a graphing calculator. Graph the two functions

\n" ); document.write( "\"y=abs%281-4x%5E2%29-abs%2811x-12-2x%5E2%29\" and \"y=1\"

\n" ); document.write( "and see where the curve is below y=1.

\n" ); document.write( "\"graph%28400%2C400%2C-10%2C2%2C-30%2C10%2Cabs%281-4x%5E2%29-abs%2811x-12-2x%5E2%29%2C1%29\"

\n" ); document.write( "Visually, the solution is the interval between about -6.6 and +1. A graphing calculator gives the approximate interval to several decimal places as (-6.566084, 1.0660844).

\n" ); document.write( "An exact algebraic solution requires a lot of work....

\n" ); document.write( "The behavior of the function on the left changes when either of the expressions in absolute value changes sign.

\n" ); document.write( "\"1-4x%5E2+=+%281-2x%29%281%2B2x%29\"

\n" ); document.write( "The behavior changes are x=-1/2 and x=1/2.

\n" ); document.write( "\"abs%281-4x%5E2%29=1-4x%5E2\" on the interval (-1/2,1/2);
\n" ); document.write( "\"abs%281-4x%5E2%29=4x%5E2-1\" everywhere else

\n" ); document.write( "\"11x-12-2x%5E2=-%282x%5E2-11x%2B12%29+=+-1%282x-3%29%28x-4%29\"

\n" ); document.write( "The behavior changes at x=3/2 and x=4.

\n" ); document.write( "\"abs%28-%282x%5E2-11x%2B12%29%29=-%282x%5E2-11x%2B12%29\" on the interval (3/2,4);
\n" ); document.write( "\"abs%28-%282x%5E2-11x%2B12%29%29=%282x%5E2-11x%2B12%29\" everywhere else

\n" ); document.write( "The critical points of the complete function divide the x-axis into 5 intervals on which the analysis needs to be done separately.

\n" ); document.write( "(1) (-infinity,-1/2)
\n" ); document.write( "(2) (-1/2,1/2)
\n" ); document.write( "(3) (1/2,3/2)
\n" ); document.write( "(4) (3/2,4)
\n" ); document.write( "(5) (4,infinity)

\n" ); document.write( "On intervals (1), (3), and (5),

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\n" ); document.write( "and the inequality is

\n" ); document.write( "\"2x%5E2%2B11x-13%3C=1\"
\n" ); document.write( "\"2x%5E2%2B11x-14%3C=0\"

\n" ); document.write( "The quadratic formula gives the zeros of that quadratic expression as

\n" ); document.write( "\"%28-11-sqrt%28233%29%29%2F4\" = -6.566084
\n" ); document.write( "and
\n" ); document.write( "\"%28-11%2Bsqrt%28233%29%29%2F4\" = 1.066084

\n" ); document.write( "Note one of those solutions is in interval (1) and the other is in interval (3), so both are valid solutions; and those solutions agree with what we found with a graphing calculator.

\n" ); document.write( "I'll let you do the details if you want; but on intervals (2) and (4) there are no real solutions, so the results we have found are the complete answer.

\n" ); document.write( "ANSWER: the solution set to the inequality is from \"%28-11-sqrt%28233%29%29%2F4\" to \"%28-11%2Bsqrt%28233%29%29%2F4\"

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