AS/A2 Pure 2 Pure 3

P1 Topic 2: Algebra
Practise expanding brackets
Use the interactive display below to practise multiplying out brackets. Press Multiply out to be given a problem at random, or choose your own values in the boxes in the yellow areas. Press the Check button to see if you have done it correctly.

Exercise 1 Practise multiplying out simple double brackets like (x+2)(x-5)

(x + )(x + )

=  x2 + x +

Exercise 2 Now multiply out brackets where the coefficients of x may not be 1, examples like (2x+3)(3x-1)

(x + ) (x + )

=  x2 + x +

Summary Multiplying out brackets is such an important part of A Level mathematics. You must practise until you can do it quickly, accurately and reliably. make sure you always leave your answer in the form ax2+bx+c remember: (a+b)2 = a2+2ab+b2 - not a2+b2 this topic is part of the AS/A2 background knowledge © MathsNet 2001