AS/A2 Pure 2 Pure 3

P1 Topic 2: Algebra
Practise factorising
Use the interactive display to practise factorising quadratic functions. Press Factorise to be given a problem at random. Press the Check button to see if you have done it correctly.

Exercise 1 Practise factorising simple quadratic functions like x2+3x+2

x2 + x +

=  (x + )(x + )

Exercise 2 Now factorise quadratics where the coefficients of x is not 1, examples like 2x2+3x+1

x2 + x +

=  (x + )( x + )

Summary Factorising is such an important part of A Level mathematics. You must practise until you can do it quickly, accurately and reliably. always try to factorise first, before using the quadratic formula remember: a2+2ab+b2 = (a+b)2 this topic is part of the AS/A2 background knowledge © MathsNet 2001