Question

Does the phrase “less then -80 points” suggest -80 upper boundary or a lower boundary

Answer 1

Answer: Upper boundary

Explanation:

The phrase "less than -80" means we have a number x such that $x < -80$

A number that could replace x is -100 since it is to the left of -80 on the number line. In other words, $-100 < -80$ is a true statement.

We can pick anything smaller than -80, but cannot pick -80 itself. Think of -80 as the ceiling value. We can get closer and closer to -80, but not actually get to -80 itself.