Subject & Study Guides: DIY Maths: Expanding expressions with brackets

EXPANDING EXPRESSIONS WITH BRACKETS

In this module you will learn how to remove the brackets from algebraic expressions.

The eight-minute video above from ExamSolutions shows you how to expand brackets in an several expressions.

The ten-minute video above is the first of a two-part series that contains a great explanation of how to expand the brackets or "distribute". This is a US film, so the teacher says "parentheses" instead of "brackets", but it's such a good explanation that it's worth putting up with the US terminology.

The above video is the second of a two-part series on how to expand brackets or "distribute" in algebra. This video focuses on distributing negative signs.

Did you know?

There are times when you MUST use brackets to be correct.

Expanding brackets incorrectly is one of the most common errors in equation solving.

Study and practice

Study expanding brackets at cimt.plymouth.ac.uk
This lesson provides text, practice questions and a full set of online exercises to help you learn how to expand brackets.
Download a distributive property worksheet (simpler)
In this worksheet provided by Kuta Software, you're given 24 simpler bracketed expressions to simplify.
Download a distributive property worksheet (harder)
This worksheet from Kuta software provides you with 24 more challenging bracket problems to work on.
Study expanding the brackets
This resource from mathsisfun contains text and animated examples showing how to expand many different types of bracketed expressions. At the end you can take an online quiz to test your knowledge.