Expanding Single Brackets

In algebra expanding brackets means to remove the brackets. 2(3x - 4) = 6x - 8. Brackets and parentheses both mean the same thing. In this video we’ll look at how to expand single brackets 2(3x - 4), and in another video we’ll discover how to expand double brackets (x - 5)(x + 3). In algebra having two things next to each other means to multiply, so to expand brackets we multiply EVERYTHING on the inside by whatever is next to the bracket on the outside. 2 multiplied by 3x gives us 6x. And 2 multiplied by -4 gives us -8. Make sure you include the sign. The final answer for expanding 2(3x - 4) is 6x - 8. There are different methods we can use to expand brackets: a jumping method or by using a grid. Choose whichever one you prefer. Another example -3(2a - 5b) = -6a + 15b. The opposite of expanding is called factorising… so just putting things BACK into brackets. We will cover this in another video. We will also discover how to expand double brackets… and even triple brackets in another video.