In this deck, we'll cover a fundamental skill in algebra: expanding brackets. This is sometimes called 'multiplying out'. It's a process for removing brackets from an expression by carrying out the multiplication they represent. We will look at single brackets, pairs of brackets, and what to do when a bracket is squared.

Let's start with single brackets. The rule is simple: you multiply the term on the outside of the bracket by every single term on the inside. For example, consider the expression 2 times the bracket x plus 3. First, we multiply 2 by x, which gives 2x. Then, we multiply 2 by the second term, positive 3, which gives positive 6. So, the expanded expression is 2x plus 6.

You need to be careful with negative signs. Let's take the expression 4 times the bracket y minus 5. First, 4 times y is 4y. Then, 4 times minus 5 is minus 20. So the result is 4y minus 20. The key is to multiply the outside term by everything inside, paying close attention to the signs.