does n<40 have an open circle or closed circle graph

1 answer

In mathematical graphing, especially when representing inequalities, open circles and closed circles are used to depict whether a particular value is included or excluded from the set of solutions.

- An open circle indicates that the value at the point is not included in the solution set. This corresponds to strict inequalities such as "<" or ">".
- A closed circle indicates that the value at the point is included in the solution set. This corresponds to inclusive inequalities such as "≤" or "≥".

For the inequality "n < 40", the graph would have an open circle at n = 40 because the inequality is strictly less than 40. This means that 40 is not included in the set of possible solutions – the values for n must be less than 40, not equal to it. If you were to graph this on a number line, you would draw an open circle at 40 and shade all the numbers to the left of 40 to indicate all the values n can take.