Expanding triple brackets

Tier: #Higher

🔗What you need to know first
How to

Multiplying out 3 sets of brackets e.g. $$(x+1)(x+2)(x+3)=x^3+6x^2+11x+6$$ This is usually a standalone question in the exam where you are asked to expand three brackets to form a cubic equation ($x^3$) instead of the usual quadratic ($x^2$). The common method is to pick two of the brackets and multiply them, then do the final bracket in a 'FOIL' type way:

$(x+1)(x^{2}+5x+6)$

Here we multiplied the second two brackets in the normal way. Now we multiply each of the quadratic terms by $x$ then each of them by $+1$. We collect all of the terms together at the end

$x(x^2+5x+6)+1(x^2+5x+6)=x^3+5x^2+6x+x^2+5x+6$

For a final answer of $x^3+6x^2+11x+6$

Questions to practise

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📝Past paper questions
💬What the examiners say
  • "Students who tackled the question in two steps often gained additional credit or the fully correct answer."
  • "Many of the responses that did not gain full marks may well have done if the learner had gone back and checked their work carefully."
⬆️How you can quickly improve
  • Always expand in two stages: multiply the first two brackets fully, collect like terms into a quadratic, then multiply that by the third bracket.
  • Write out every product from each expansion before collecting — count the terms to make sure none have been dropped.
  • After factorising, check whether any bracket that remains can be factorised further — look for common factors and difference of two squares.
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