The inequality that matches the situation "at some colleges students must work 20 hours or less per week" is:
\( w \leq 20 \)
However, since this exact option is not provided in your list, the closest match would be:
w < 20
This implies that students can work fewer than 20 hours per week. If "20 hours or less" includes the possibility of working exactly 20 hours, then the correct inequality is not listed.
So, based on your provided options, the best choice is w < 20.