Expanding a Single Bracket

Sarah Allott – [email protected]

www.drfrostmaths.com
@DrFrostMaths

Dr Frost Learning is a registered charity

Last modified: 20/10/2023 in England and Wales (no 1194954)
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Teacher Notes
Prerequisite Knowledge Representations Used Future Links
• Equivalent fractions and • Algebra tiles • Expanding two or more
simplest form • Area model brackets
• Negative numbers and • Grid method for • Factorisation into a
arithmetic multiplication single bracket
• Basic algebraic notation • Binomial expansion
• Collecting like terms
• Basic index laws
– numerical including
use of zero powers
and negative powers
– algebraic including
zero powers only

Key: Key Points Solution step – All slides include pedagogical

click to reveal detail in the ‘Notes’ section
! To be written for each slide.
in books Question/Discussion
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Prompt in England and Wales (no 1194954)
Contents
For lessons covering many concepts, please click the below to navigate quickly to
the relevant part of the lesson.

Prerequisite Knowledge Check

Expanding a Single Bracket with an integer multiplier

Expanding a Single Bracket with an algebraic multiplier

More Complex Terms Outside the Bracket

Using Laws of Indices when Expanding

Extending to More Terms Inside the Bracket

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in England and Wales (no 1194954)
Prerequisite Knowledge Check Show all
solutions

1 1
1 Calculate: 2 Simplify:
z z
a a ?
?
b ? b ?
c ? c ?
d ? d ?
e ? 3 Simplify:
f ? a ?
g ? b ?
h ? c ?
i ? d ?
j ? e ?
The Big Idea: Expanding a Single Bracket
Without using a column multiplication procedure, calculate the area of
the rectangle shown below.

28cm

20cm 8cm

7cm

We can split this rectangle into two smaller areas; this How else could we split
makes the calculation easier. the area to make our
calculations easier?
(7 × 20) ?¿140
+¿(7 × 8) +5¿ 6¿ 196 Would this still work if
we split it into more
The area of the rectangle is 196cm2. than two pieces?
The Big Idea: Expanding a Single Bracket
How might we find the area of this rectangle?

cm

cm 8cm

7cm

In the same way, we split the algebraic length into two (or more) parts. In this
case, we only need two because there are two terms.

(7 × 2 𝑥) ? +
+¿(7 × 8)¿14 ¿ 6¿ 14 𝑥 +56
𝑥5
The area of the rectangle is cm2.
The Big Idea: Expanding a Single Bracket
When we multiply a term by an algebraic expression, we call this
expanding a bracket.

How might we expand ?

We can also think of this as finding the area

of a rectangle, this time with width of and
length of .

𝑥 1111 Inside the original rectangle,

we collect the like terms.
There are three tiles and twelve 1 tiles.

3 𝑥 12
1 𝑥 1111
1 𝑥 1111 Therefore, the area is .
1 𝑥 1111

These two expressions are equivalent. This

is shown using the sign.
The Big Idea: Expanding a Single Bracket
We don’t have to draw our rectangles to scale to achieve the same result.
We can use a grid model instead.
How might we expand ?

Split the expression in the bracket up We multiply the term in the

using the addition or subtraction signs. It first column by each term in the
is important that each sign stays with the first row.
next term (e.g. +4). You’ll see why soon!

3 × 𝑥= 3 𝑥
3 ×+ 4=+12
3 𝑥 +12

¿ 3 𝑥 +12
The Big Idea: Expanding a Single Bracket
We don’t even have to draw a grid,
we can simply use algebraic notation to expand a bracket.

How might we expand ?

3 ( 𝑥+ 4) ≡ 3 𝑥+12
3 × 𝑥=3 𝑥3 ×+ 4=12

This is an example of the distributive law at work.

The ‘multiplication by 3’ is distributed
onto the and the .
The Big Idea: Expanding a Single Bracket

Which method do you prefer?

Which method would be the most efficient in the long run?
Which method is useful to ‘fall back on’?

𝑥 1111
1 𝑥 1111
1
1
𝑥 1111
𝑥 1111
3 𝑥 +12

3 ( 𝑥+ 4) ≡ 3 𝑥+12
Example Test Your Understanding

Expand Expand

? ?

? ? ? ? ?

¿ 𝟏𝟓 𝒙? +𝟐𝟎 ¿ 𝟒𝟐 𝒙
? +𝟏𝟐
Quickfire Questions

1 Expand 2 Expand

4𝑥 a
7

3 𝟏𝟐b 𝒙 𝟐𝟏
𝟒b𝒙c
d e f

3 . Work out the value of and .

3 ( 6g 𝑥 +7h) ≡ 18 𝑥 +21
Example
When there are negatives inside and/or outside the bracket, we just need
to be a little more careful. The process stays the same.

Expand

𝑥 −1−1−1
1
1 2 𝑥−6
𝑥 −1−1−1
𝑥 −1−1−1 2 𝑥 −6
Collect the like terms. There are two
‘’ tiles and six ‘1’ tiles.
2 × 𝑥=2 𝑥2 ×− 3=−6
𝟐 ( 𝒙 −𝟑 ) ≡𝟐 𝒙 −𝟔

2( 𝑥 − 3)≡ 2 𝑥−6
2 × 𝑥=2 𝑥2 ×− 3=−6
Example
When there are negatives inside and/or outside the bracket, we just need
to be a little more careful. The process stays the same.

Expand

11− 𝑥 − 𝑥

−6 +6 𝑥
−1 −1−1 𝑥 𝑥
−1 −1−1 𝑥 𝑥 −6 +6 𝑥
−1 −1−1 𝑥 𝑥
Collect the like terms.
There are six ‘’ tiles and
−3 × 2=−6−3 × −2 𝑥=6 𝑥
six ‘’ tiles.

−3 (2 −2 𝑥) ≡−6+6 𝑥 ¿ 𝟔 𝒙 − 𝟔 Remember, we prefer

positive coefficients to
come first in expressions.
We can reorganise as

−3 × 2=−6 −3 × −2 𝑥=6 𝑥 multiplication and

addition are
commutative.
Quickfire Questions
a Expand b Expand

𝟏𝟎 𝒙?+𝟏𝟓 𝟏𝟎 𝒙?− 𝟏𝟓

c Expand d Expand

?
𝟏𝟓 −𝟏𝟎 𝒙 𝟏𝟎 𝒙?− 𝟏𝟓
Fractional Multipliers
How might we expand ? What about ?

Here is Remember: Multiplying Here is

by 1/2 is the same as
dividing by 2. First split into thirds.
Each part is worth
When we half , we can imagine the algebra tiles
splitting into two groups.

𝑥 −1−1 𝑥 𝑥 111
𝑥 −1−1 𝑥 𝑥 111
𝑥 𝑥 𝑥 111
111
𝑥 −1−1
−1−1
𝑥 𝑥 111
𝑥 𝑥 111
Each part is worth .
We need two of these thirds, so double the number
of parts.
So,
So,
Fractional Multipliers
We can still use our grid method or algebraic
method to model these problems too.

Expand ? Expand ?

2
𝑥 −2 ( 6 𝑥 +9 )=¿4 𝑥+6
3
1 1
×2 𝑥=𝑥 ×− 4=− 2
2 2
2
× 9=6
3

So,
Quickfire Questions
a Expand b Expand

𝟑 𝒙?+ 𝟓 𝟑 − ?𝟒 𝒙

c Expand d Expand

𝟒 𝒂?− 𝟔
or?
Example
There can also be an algebraic term outside of the bracket too. Again, we
just need to be a little more careful.

Expand
𝑥 11111

𝑥 𝑥 +5
𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 2
𝟐
𝑥 +5 𝑥
𝑥 × 𝑥=𝑥
2
2

𝑥 ×+5=+5 𝑥
Collect the like terms.
𝒙 ( 𝒙 +𝟓 ) ≡ 𝒙 + 𝟓 𝒙
There five ‘’ tiles.
𝒙 ( 𝒙 +𝟓 ) ≡ 𝒙 𝟐+ 𝟓 𝒙

𝑥 (𝑥 +5) ≡𝑥 2 +5 𝑥
2
𝑥 × 𝑥=𝑥 𝑥 ×+5=+5 𝑥
Example
When the term outside of the bracket is a different variable to the terms
inside the bracket, we just multiply them together normally.

Expand
𝑦 −1−1−1

𝑥 𝑥𝑦−3𝑥
−𝑥−𝑥−𝑥 𝑥𝑦 −3 𝑥
𝑥 × 𝑦=𝑥𝑦 𝑥 ×− 3=−3 𝑥
Collect the like terms.
𝒙 ( 𝒚 −𝟑 ) ≡ 𝒙𝒚 −𝟑 𝒙
There three ‘’ tiles.
𝒙 ( 𝒚 −𝟑 ) ≡ 𝒙𝒚 −𝟑 𝒙

𝑥 ( 𝑦 −3) ≡𝑥𝑦 −3 𝑥
𝑥 × 𝑦=𝑥𝑦 𝑥 ×− 3=−3 𝑥
Quickfire Questions
a Expand b Expand

? ?
𝟓 ?
𝒙 −𝟐 𝒙
𝟐
? ?

𝟐
𝒙 −? 𝟓 𝒙
c Expand d Expand

𝑦 ( 𝑥 −5) ≡𝑥𝑦
? −5? 𝑥 𝟐 𝒙𝒚 ?−𝟓 𝒚
Who is correct?

Expand and simplify

Viktor expanded the bracket first,

then simplified.

Viktor is correct.
Basma worked from left to right,
adding the 6of
Order andoperations
8 first before
still holds in algebraic expansions too!
expanding.
We have to expand the brackets first and then simplify.
Exercise 1 (Available as a separate worksheet)
Show all
solutions

1 Fill in the blanks in the table below. 2 Expand and, where

necessary, simplify:
Question Working Out Final Answer
a ?
?
? b ?
? ?
c ?
? ?
d ?
3
? ?
e ?
? 𝑥
5 ( 4 −2 𝑥 ) ≡20 − 10 ? f ?
g ?
?2 𝑥
𝑥 ( 4 −2 𝑥 ) ≡ 4 𝑥 −
2
?
h ?
? 4 𝑥 −2𝑥
𝑥 ( 4 𝑥 −2 ) ≡
2
?
i ?

? 4 𝑥𝑦 −2 𝑥
𝑥 ( 4 𝑦 − 2) ≡ ?
Exercise 1 (Available as a separate worksheet)
Show all
solutions

3 [Edexcel GCSE(9-1) June 2019 1F Q16a]

Expand 𝟏𝟎𝒎?−𝟏𝟓
4 [Eduqas GCSE Autumn 2020 Foundation Paper 1 Q7a(ii)]

Simplify the following: 7 𝑥+14 −5=𝟕

? 𝒙+𝟗
5 [KS3 SATS 2000 L6-L8 Paper 1 Q8a]

Two of the expressions below are equivalent. Select them.

and are both equal
to ?

N [KS3 SATs 2007 L6-L8 Paper 2 Q9a Edited] 𝒂 ( 𝟐 𝒂+ 𝟏?) ≡ 𝟐 𝒂𝟐 + 𝒂

Jenny wants to multiply out the brackets in the expression
She writes:
Expand to shows that Jenny is wrong.
The Big Idea: More Complex Terms Outside the Bracket

Expand

9 𝑧 ×− 2=−18 𝑧

27 𝑧 −18 𝑧
2 𝟐
𝟗 𝒛 ( 𝟑 𝒛 − 𝟐 ) ≡𝟐𝟕 𝒛 −𝟏𝟖 𝒛

Top Tip: when multiplying algebraic terms,

decompose each term under multiplication and
commute to make the multiplication easier.

9 𝑧 (3 𝑧 −2) ≡ 2 7 𝑧 −18 𝑧 2

2
9 𝑧 × 3 𝑧=27 𝑧
9 𝑧 ×− 2=−18 𝑧
The Big Idea: More Complex Terms Outside the Bracket

Expand

3 𝑥 × 4=12 𝑥

24 𝑥𝑦+12 𝑥 𝟑 𝒙 ( 𝟖 𝒚 +𝟒 ) ≡ 𝟐𝟒 𝒙𝒚 +𝟏𝟐 𝒙

3 𝑥 (8 𝑦 + 4 )≡ 24 𝑥𝑦+12 𝑥
3 𝑥 × 8 𝑦 =24 𝑥𝑦
3 𝑥 ×+4=+12 𝑥
Quickfire Questions
a Expand b Expand

𝟐 𝟐
𝟓𝟎 𝒛 ?+𝟑𝟎 𝒛 ?
𝟐𝟕 𝒙 − 𝟏𝟖 𝒙

c Expand d Expand

𝟐?
𝟖 𝒂 −𝟐𝟒 𝒂𝒃 𝟏𝟓 𝒅𝒆+𝟏𝟖? 𝒅𝒇 −𝟔 𝒅𝒈
The Big Idea: Using Laws of Indices when Expanding

Expand

5 7
60 𝑥 +20 𝑥
𝟓 𝒙 ( 𝟏𝟐 𝒙 +𝟒 𝒙 ) ≡𝟔𝟎 𝒙 +𝟐𝟎 𝒙
𝟐 𝟑 𝟓 𝟓 𝟕

Top Tip: you can do this in your head by

multiplying the coefficients and then multiplying
the algebraic parts using the laws of indices.

2 3 5 5 7
5 𝑥 ( 12 𝑥 +4 𝑥 )≡ 60 𝑥 +20 𝑥
2 3 5
5 𝑥 ×12 𝑥 =60 𝑥 2 5 7
5 𝑥 × 4 𝑥 =20 𝑥
Example Test Your Understanding

Expand Expand

? ?

? ? ? ? ?

𝟑 𝟑 𝟒
¿ 𝟏𝟓 𝒙𝒚 ?− 𝟑𝟓 𝒙 ¿ 𝟏𝟐 𝒙 𝒚? − 𝟔 𝒙
The Big Idea: Extending to More Terms in a Bracket
Expand

It doesn’t matter how many terms

appear in the bracket; we simply
multiply each term inside the
bracket by the term that is outside
7 𝑝 −21 𝑝+14 𝑝
3 2
the bracket.

2
7 𝑝 ×𝑝 =7 𝑝
3 7 𝑝 ×2=14 𝑝
2
7 𝑝 ×−3 𝑝 =−21 𝑝

𝟕 𝒑 ( 𝒑𝟐 −𝟑 𝒑 +𝟐 ) ≡ 𝟕 𝒑 𝟑 − 𝟐𝟏 𝒑 𝟐 +𝟏𝟒 𝒑

7 𝑝 (𝑝 −3 𝑝 +2)≡ 7 𝑝 −21 𝑝 +14 𝑝 3 2

2

7 𝑝 ×𝑝 =7 𝑝 7 𝑝 ×−3 𝑝 =−21 𝑝72 𝑝 ×2=14 𝑝

2 3
Example Test Your Understanding

Expand Expand

? ? ? ?

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

𝟑 𝟑 𝟒
¿ 𝟏𝟓 𝒙𝒚 ?− 𝟑𝟓 𝒙 ¿ 𝟏𝟐 𝒙 𝒚? − 𝟔 𝒙
Quickfire Questions
a Expand b Expand

−? 𝟑𝟐 𝒚 ?
𝟐 𝟓 𝟐 𝟒
𝟖𝒚 𝟑𝒙 +𝟑 𝒙 𝒚

c Expand d Expand

? ?
Exercise 2 (Available as a separate worksheet)
Show all
solutions

1 Expand and, where necessary, simplify:

a ? j ?
b ? k ?
c ? l ?
d ? m ?

e ? n ?
o
f ?
?
g ?
p
h ?
?
i
?
Exercise 2 (Available as a separate worksheet)
Show all
solutions

2 [Edexcel IGCSE May2013(R)-3H Q4a]

Expand 𝟏𝟖 𝒂−𝟏𝟐𝒃+𝟔𝒄
?

3 a
Expand ?
b Expand ?
c Expand ?

4 [AQA IGCSE FM Practice paper set 4 P2 Q5b]

Expand and simplify fully
𝟐
𝒄 + 𝟏?
Exercise 2 (Available as a separate worksheet)
Show all
solutions

N [OCR C1 Jan 2010 Q11ii Edited]

𝒂
A lawn is to be made in the shape shown.
The units are metres. Show that the area, m2 , 𝒉
of the lawn is . 𝒃
Need a hint? Click here!

? Area of trapezium =

? Collect like terms inside the bracket

? required
as Expand the bracket to ‘halve’.

? Multiply by ; this is the same as expanding with a

multiplier of .
?