1.7 Absolute Value Word
Problems
p.52
Ex: A manufacturer has a 0.6oz tolerance for a
bottle of salad dressing advertised as 16oz.
Write and solve an absolute value inequality
that describes the acceptable volumes for
“16oz” bottles.
• Hint: If you want within the range, use 
If you want out of the range, use >
actual amt. - ideal amt.  tolerance
x 16  0.6
What does this mean?
 0.6  x 16  0.6
15.4  x  16.6
If you buy a bottle of 16oz dressing, you might get one
that actually has 15.4 to 16.6oz instead.
Ex: A city ordinance states that pools must be
enclosed by a fence that is from 3 to 6 ft high.
Write an absolute value inequality describing
fences that don’t meet this ordinance.
• How do you find the tolerance?
tolerance=(high end)-(avg. of low & high ends)
actual height - average height  tolerance
3 6
h
 6  4.5
2
h  4.5  1.5
Ex: A manufacturer has a tolerance of 0.36 lb
for a bag of potting soil advertised as 9.6 lb.
Write and solve an absolute value inequality
that describes unacceptable weights for “9.6
lb” bags.
actual weight - ideal weight  tolerance
w  9.6  0.36
w-9.6>0.36
w>9.96
or
or
w-9.6<-0.36
w<9.24
Assignment