Concept · 4 steps · NESA MA4-ALG-C-01

Factorising Algebraic Expressions

Expanding takes brackets apart; factorising puts them back together. It's the move that tidies up messy expressions, simplifies fractions, and — next year — cracks quadratics wide open.

1Where it comes fromFactorising is just expanding in reverse. Rebuild the rectangle and watch the common factor come out. 2How to do itFind the highest common factor, take it outside the brackets — with a practice generator to lock it in. 3Where it gets trickyTake out the highest common factor (pronumerals too), mind the signs, and check by expanding. 4Out in the wildSimplifying fractions, verifying by expanding, and the first taste of solving quadratics.

← This concept rests on

The Distributive Law (expanding)
Highest Common Factor

→ It unlocks

Solving Quadratic Equations
Algebraic Fractions