Graphs make up a huuuge part of the gcse maths syllabus.

Its a topic that comes up in both foundation and higher tier, the questions can easily range from level 3 to level 9.

If you want any hope in passing your gcse maths exam and if you want a half decent grade, you need to master expanding brackets (and factorising, but we’ll do that in another post.)

Expanding two (or more) brackets is where you need to be super careful.

Minus numbers can really trip you up.

However if you do it step by step, its fairly straightforward.

Expanding brackets is the process of removing the brackets from something like this: 3(x + 2)

(Thinking about it like removing the shells from a pistachio nut, might help you remember).

To remove the brackets or expand the expression, you need to multiply.

You multiply the number or letter that’s on the outside of the bracket with everything inside the bracket, but 1 step at a time:

Oooooh. Algebraic Fractions eh?

You know I love maths, so I could sit and do them all day long...but for most 'normal' people these are a nightmare...and they get worse.

Algebraic fractions are mostly level 7 and upwards, so an easy version could potentially pop up in the foundation paper, but they are usually always in the higher tier GCSE maths exam. Fun times.