The first thing we must do for this case is to define a variable.
We have then:
x: number of years before the Russo-Japanese conflict began
We write now the inequality that models the problem.
We know that the conflict began in the year 1904, therefore, all the previous years are given by:
x <1904
Answer:
an inequality in terms of x and 1904 that is true only for values of x that represent years before the start of the Russo-Japanese War is:
x <1904
