the correct inequality is"any rational number less than 9"
x < 9
Remember that when we have a number line, an open circle means that we can use the symbols > or <.
While a closed circle uses the symbols ≤ or ≥.
Here we know that we have an open circle at 9, ant everything to the left of the circle is shaded.
To the left of 9 there are the numbers smaller than 9, then the inequality would be:
x < 9
Then the correct option is "any rational number less than 9"
If you want to learn more about inequalities:
https://brainly.com/question/18881247
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