The first four questions on this expanding brackets worksheet focus on expanding single brackets with a monomial factor. In Q1 this is a number.
Q2-4 introduce algebraic monomials. Q5-6 start to explore the product of two binomials. At first this is with coefficients of x being 1 or -1 in each bracket, before introducing higher valued coefficients.
The later questions in each section also include a monomial factor
We’ve designed Q7 to pave the way for the reasoning skills required to bridge to factorisation.
We finish by expanding three binomial factors across Q8-9.
Free expanding brackets worksheet
The practice questions on this expanding brackets worksheet have been designed to allow your pupils to try all important aspects of the content, but also to notice things about the structure behind each content area.
Students will need to engage in reasoning to explain why they’re seeing the results they are.
Worksheets requiring arithmetic have generally been limited to integer calculation so they can be used with pupils who may not yet be fluent in decimal/fractional arithmetic.
Where pupils have these pre-requisite skills, we recommend adapting the questions (where appropriate) to include this content.
We’ve included an answers sheet in the download for your convenience. While you’ll typically introduce the material in this worksheet in KS3, there’s also some content that is generally exclusive to KS4.
Peter Mattock is an assistant headteacher and secondary mastery lead for the East Midlands South Maths Hub. He’s the author of Visible Maths and Conceptual Maths (Crown House Publishing). Follow Peter on Twitter at @MrMattock.
Download a KS3 maths algebra lesson on expanding brackets.
