Advanced: Double Brackets

Part of Expanding Brackets · Section 8 of 13

Deep DiveUnit: AlgebraGCSE

This deep dive covers Advanced: Double Brackets within Expanding Brackets for GCSE Mathematics. Revise Expanding Brackets in Algebra for GCSE Mathematics with 14 exam-style questions and 3 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 8 of 13 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

Advanced: Double Brackets

When you multiply two brackets together, you're essentially finding the area of a rectangle where the sides are algebraic expressions. Think of (x + 3)(x + 2) as a rectangle with width (x + 3) and height (x + 2). To find the total area, you need to multiply every term by every other term!
Expanding double brackets - FOIL method with arrows, grid method, collecting like terms, special cases

Practice questions for Expanding Brackets

Which expression is equivalent to 3(x + 2)?

  • A. 3x + 2
  • B. x + 6
  • C. 3x + 6
  • D. 3x + 5
1 markfoundation

Expand -2(3x - 5)

2 marksfoundation

Quick recall flashcards

Expansion Rule
a(b + c) = ab + ac - multiply EVERY term inside by the term outside
Sign Rules
Positive × Positive = Positive | Negative × Negative = Positive | Different signs = Negative

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