Greater than and Less than Symbols

Greater than and Less than Symbols are used to compare any numbers. If a number is bigger than another symbol greater than symbol is used and when a number is less than the other number less than symbol is used. Refer to the entire article to learn about Greater than and Less than Symbols, Notations, and Tricks to remember them easily. Using Symbols will help you save time and space and users can understand them easily.

Greater than and Less than Symbols – Definition

Greater than and Less than Symbols denotes the inequality between two values. The symbol used to represent greater than is “>” and less than is “<“.

Greater than Sign

Greater than Symbol is placed between two values if the first value is greater than the second value. In Inequality, greater than symbol will always be pointed towards the greater value, and the symbol consisting of two equal length strokes connecting in an acute angle at the right.

For Example 8>5, here 8 is greater than 5

Less than Sign

Less than symbol is placed between two values when the first value is less than the second value. In Inequality, less than symbol will always be pointed towards the lesser value, and the symbol consisting of two equal length strokes connecting in an acute angle at the left.

For Example 10<15, here 10 is less than 15.

Greater than and Less than Symbols makes it easy for the readers to understand.

All Symbols – Summary

Below is the list of Inequality Symbols and their Notations. They are along the lines

Symbol Description Symbol Notation
Greater than sign >
Less than sign <
Equal to sign =
Not equal to sign
Greater less or equal to
Less than or equal to

Tricks to Remember Greater than and Less than Symbols

To remember Greater than and Less than Symbols two methods are used. They are as follows

  • Alligator Method
  • L Method

Alligator Method: We know an Alligator or Crocodile always wants to eat a larger number of fishes. Alligator Mouth Opens always opens towards the largest number. Consider the numbers on both sides represent the number of fishes.

For Example: 10>6

Alligator mouth opens towards 10 since it wants to et 10 fishes rather than 6 fishes. It means 6 <10

L Method: Letter L appears similar to the Less than Symbol “<“.

Example: 20<40

Also, Read: Greater or Less than and Equal to

Applications of Greater than and Less than Symbols

In Mathematics we always don’t end with equality. At times, you can even have greater than and less than symbols. The Statements can be expressed using a Mathematical Expression.

Example: Consider there are x number of students in a class and they are more than 50 students if 10 more joined the class then they are 50 students in the class. Expressing this statement in mathematical expression we get

x+10>50

Solving Inequalities is similar to solving equations. While dealing with Inequalities Problems you should pay attention to the inequality sign direction. Some of the tricks that don’t affect the direction of inequalities are as listed below

  • Multiply or Divide the Inequalities on both the sides with the same Positive Number.
  • Add or Subtract the same number on both sides of the Inequality Expression.

Worked out Examples on Greater than and Less than Symbols

Question 1.

Diya has thirteen bananas and Manvi has twenty bananas. Find out who has more bananas?

Solution:

No. of Bananas Diya has = 13

No. of Bananas Manvi has = 20

Since 20>13

Thus, Manvi has more Bananas.

2. Dheeraj sleeps for thirty minutes and Manav sleeps for forty-five minutes every day in the afternoon. Find out who sleeps for less time?

Solution:

No. of Minutes Deeraj Sleeps = 30 min

No. of Minutes Manav Sleeps = 45 min

since 30<45

Dheeraj Sleeps for Less time compared to Manav.

FAQs on Greater than and Less than Symbols

1. What are the Different Inequality Symbols?

The different Inequality Symbols are

Greater than (>)
Less than (<)
Not equal to (≠)
Greater than or equal to (≥)
Less than or equal to (≤)

2. How to Remember Greater than and Less than Symbols?

You can use different methods like Alligator Method and L Method to remember the Greater than and Less than Symbols easily.

3. When can we use Greater than and Less than Symbols?

We can use Greater than and Less than Symbols to represent the Inequality Expressions. The Symbols used to denote greater than and less than are >, <.

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