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Updated Mar 14, 2026

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Master Expanding Brackets

Gabriela

@gabriela.my.school.journey16

Learning to expand brackets is a crucial algebra skill that... Show more

Expanding Brackets

Ever wondered why we need to expand brackets? It's like unpacking a suitcase - we need to see what's inside! Expanding brackets means multiplying everything inside the brackets by the term outside.

For simple cases like 5 $3c + 2$ , you multiply 5 by each term inside: 5 × 3c = 15c and 5 × 2 = 10, giving you 15c + 10. When you see letters multiplied together like x $x + 7$ , remember that x × x = x², so you get x² + 7x.

Things get more interesting with double brackets like $n + 5$ $n + 6$ . Here's where the FOIL method helps: multiply the First terms $n × n = n²$ , the Outer terms $n × 6 = 6n$ , the Inner terms $5 × n = 5n$ , and the Last terms (5 × 6 = 30). Then combine like terms: n² + 6n + 5n + 30 = n² + 11n + 30.

Top Tip: Always check your work by substituting a simple number for the variable - both the original and expanded forms should give the same answer!

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Updated Mar 14, 2026

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1 page

Master Expanding Brackets

Gabriela

@gabriela.my.school.journey16

Learning to expand brackets is a crucial algebra skill that you'll use throughout your maths studies. It's all about multiplying terms systematically to remove brackets and simplify expressions.

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Expanding Brackets

Top Tip: Always check your work by substituting a simple number for the variable - both the original and expanded forms should give the same answer!