Multiplying out Single Brackets.

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Multiplying out Single Brackets

Brackets are often used in algebra, for example 3 x (x - y) is usually written as 3(x - y).

Multiplying out brackets is often known as 'expanding brackets'. To expand brackets, each term inside the bracket is multiplied by the term outside the bracket.

Examples

Expand...

1) 3(a - b)

= 3 x a - 3 x b

=3a - 3b

2) x(2x - 3y)

= x times 2x - x times 3y

= 2x squared - 3xy

3) 5(x - 3) +2(x - 1)

=5x -15 +2x - 2

=7x -17

4) 3(2x - 1) -2(x +1)

=6x - 3 - 2x - 2

=4x - 5

Multiplying out Single Brackets