What is expansion?

Expansion

Expansion is the process of removing brackets and multiplying them term by term before consolidating the terms together.

                                               *For example:

"Expanding" means removing the ( ) but you have to do it the right

Whatever is inside the ( ) needs to be treated as a "package".

• So when you multiply, you have to multiply by everything inside the "package".

Example: Expand 3 × (5+2)

3 × (5+2) = 3 × 5 + 3 × 2

It is now expanded.

You could also go on to calculate that it equals 15 + 6 = 21

In Algebra

In Algebra putting two things next to each other usually means to multiply.

So 3(a+b) means to multiply 3 by (a+b)

Conclusion

Multiply by everything inside the ().

• There are also special algebraic identities used in expansion which will be further elaborated upon on in my other posts.