GCSE MATHS PRACTICE
GCSE Expanding Brackets Questions
Expand a single bracket by multiplying every term inside it by the term outside. Keep the sign with each term, then collect like terms if needed. Terms with the same variable and power can be combined. This page focuses on single brackets, including expressions with two separate brackets; it does not cover products of two brackets.
Updated 10 October 2026
Worked example
Expand and simplify 3(2x − 5) + 4x.
- Multiply both terms in the bracket by 3: 3 × 2x + 3 × (−5) = 6x − 15.
- Add the remaining 4x and collect like terms: 6x − 15 + 4x = 10x − 15.
Answer: 10x − 15
Practice questions
- 1
Expand 5(x + 4).
- 2
Expand −3(2x − 7).
- 3
Expand and simplify 4(3x − 2) − 5x.
- 4
Expand and simplify 5(2x − 3) − 2(x + 4).
Show answers
- 1. 5x + 20
- 2. −6x + 21
- 3. 7x − 8
- 4. 8x − 23
Common mistakes
- Multiplying only the first term — Every term inside the bracket must be multiplied.
- Losing a negative sign — A negative multiplied by a negative gives a positive.
- Combining unlike terms — A constant and an x term cannot be collected into one term.