Appendix A - A.3 - Inequalities - Exercises - Page 551: 7

(a) $a \gt b$ (b) $a \lt b$

We can state the Trichotomy Property: For any two real numbers $a$ and $b$, exactly one of these statements is true: $a\gt b, ~~a = b, ~~a \lt b$ (a) $a = \frac{12}{-2} = -6$ $b = 4(-2) = -8$ $a \gt b$ (b) $a = 2^3 = 8$ $b = 3^2 = 9$ $a \lt b$