Use of > & <

OCR Jan 2008 Q 9 last part has the answer that k lies outside of the range between root 3 -2 and root 3 + 2.
It is tempting to write $\sqrt 3+2< k < \sqrt 3-2$ rather than separately saying
$k>\sqrt 3+2$ or $k < \sqrt 3-2$.

In the mark scheme, the former case loses at least one mark. Whilst I agree it is a bit unclear, why is it wrong?

Is it because the notation implies that k can be in both domains at the same time or is it something else?