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Edexcel International AS Maths: Your notes
Pure 1
1.5 Polynomials
Contents
1.5.1 Expanding Brackets
1.5.2 Factorising Expressions
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1.5.1 Expanding Brackets
Your notes
Expanding Brackets
What do I need to know about expanding brackets?
To expand brackets, the rule is that each term in one set of brackets must be multiplied by each term in
the other set of brackets
'FOIL' is a special case of this, when each set of brackets contains two terms you can mulitply in order
e.g. to multiply out or expand these brackets (2x + 3)(x - 5)
First (2x + 3)(x - 5) gives 2x2
Outside (2x + 3)(x - 5) gives -10x
Inside (2x + 3)(x - 5) gives +3x
Last (2x + 3)(x - 5) gives -15
(2x + 3)(x - 5) = 2x2 -10x +3x -15 = 2x2 -7x -15
If you spot something like (a + b)2 or (a + b)3 just write the brackets out twice or three times respectively
e.g. (3x + 2)2 = (3x +2)(3x+2) = 9x2 + 6x + 6x + 4 = 9x2 + 12x + 4
If you are trying to expand something like (a + b)n for powers of n greater than 2 or 3, use the binomial
expansion
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If you have to expand more than two sets of brackets, just expand them two at a time
Your notes
Worked example
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Worked example
Your notes
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1.5.2 Factorising Expressions
Your notes
What is meant by factorising expressions?
Many expressions in mathematics are written as a sum of terms
e.g. x 2 + 6x − 16 is the sum of three the terms x 2 , 6x and −16
Many expressions are written as a product of factors
e.g. (x + 8) (x − 2) is the product of the two (linear) factors x + 8 and x − 2
Factorising is the process of rewriting the sum of terms as a product of factors
The other way round is expanding
How do I factorise an expression?
This will depend on the nature of the expression you are dealing with
In all cases the first thing to consider is if there is a factor (number and/or letter) of all terms in the
expression
e.g. 2x 3 + 4x 2 − 8x = 2x (x 2 + 2x − 4)
A quadratic expression may be able to be factorised into two linear factors
Look out for special cases
No constant term: x 2 + 5x = x (x + 5)
Difference of two squares (no x term and constant is square): x 2 − 36 = (x − 6) (x + 6)
Perfect squares: x 2 + 8x + 16 = (x + 4) (x + 4) = (x + 4) 2
‘Hidden’ quadratics:
32x − 12 × 3x + 27 = (3x ) 2 − 12(3x ) + 27 = (3x − 3) (3x − 9)
More than one variable: x 2 − y 2 = (x − y ) (x + y )
A cubic expression (at this level) will not contain a constant term
This means will x be a factor (and there might be a number as a factor too)
The remaining expression will be a quadratic
this quadratic may also be able to be factorised
e.g. 6x 3 + 3x 2 − 9x = 3x (2x 2 + x − 3) = 3x (2x + 3) (x − 1)
Remind me how to factorise a quadratic …
There are many shortcuts to factorise quadratic expressions, but they often only apply under certain
conditions (such as when a = 1)
the method below works for any quadratic expression
it is most useful when the coefficient of the x 2 term is greater than 1 (and not prime)
Follow the steps:
STEP 1 Starting with ax 2 + bx + c find the product ac
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For example: for 6x 2 + 7x − 3 ac = 6 × − 3 = − 18
STEP 2 Find two numbers m & n whose product is ac and sum is b
Your notes
For example: 9 × − 2 = − 18 = ac & 9 + ( − 2) = 7 = b
So m = 9 & n = − 2
STEP 3 Split the bx term into mx + nx
For example: 6x 2 − 2x + 9x − 3
STEP 4 Factorise the first two terms and the last two terms
For example: 2x (3x − 1) + 3(3x − 1)
STEP 5 Factorise once more for the final answer
For example: (3x − 1) (2x + 3)
If a and/or c are prime, factorising can be done “by inspection”
For example: the only way to split (prime) 3 into factors would be 3 and 1
Why does the 'ac' method work?
Suppose ax 2 + bx + c ≡ (px + r ) (qx + s )
then expanding and simplifying gives
ax 2 + bx + c ≡ pqx 2 + psx + qrx + rs ≡ pqx 2 + (ps + qr ) x + rs
By comparing coefficients
a = pq
b = ps + qr
c = rs
Let m = ps and n = qr then:
m + n = ps + qr = b
m × n = psqr = ac
Therefore these are the two numbers whose product is ac and sum is b
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Worked example
Your notes
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Exam Tip
Your notes
Do use your tried and tested shortcuts for factorising quadratics
We’ve explained it in full above to help you understand the process rather than to learn ‘tricks’
You don't need to learn why the 'ac' method works - but we thought you might think that the
algebra is cool
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