Answer:
The "circle" you are referring to is only for inequality graphing.
A closed circle means that the "circle" is less than or greater than AND EQUAL TO wherever that point is on the graph.
A open circle means that the "circle" is less than or greater than wherever it is on the graph.
For your example,
X > 45 would be an open circle, because the alligator doesn't have an underline indicating it is also equal to 45.
The alligator indicates the direction and whether it also includes "equal to".
An example of a closed circle is this.
[tex]x \geq 45[/tex]; the line below the alligator indicates that it is also equal to 45.
