Expanding and factorising · Year 8

In Year 8 you learn: expanding single brackets and factorising into a single bracket.

Expanding removes brackets by multiplying every term inside by what is outside. Factorising does the opposite: it puts brackets back in by taking out common factors. Both are everyday tools for simplifying algebra and solving equations.

Key facts

• Expand a single bracket by multiplying every term inside: 3(2x − 5) = 6x − 15.
• (a + b)² = a² + 2ab + b² — not a² + b².

Other years

• Expanding and factorising · Year 9
• Expanding and factorising · Year 10
• Expanding and factorising · Year 11