Draw an open circle on -5 and shade to the left.
Draw an open circle on -5 and shade to the right.
Draw a closed circle on -5 and shade to the left.
Draw a closed circle on -5 and shade to the right.
Answer: C) Closed circle at -5; shading to the left
The given inequality [tex]3x \le -15[/tex] solves to [tex]x \le -5[/tex] when we divide both sides by 3. The inequality sign does not change because we didn't divide both sides by a negative number.
The graph has a closed circle at -5 to include this value as part of the solution set. Shading is to the left to indicate values smaller than -5. Overall, the graph says "x can be -5 or smaller". If you wanted to exclude -5, you would say [tex]x < -5[/tex] and use an open circle; but that's not the case here.
