Factors

Factorising expressions is the reverse of multiplying out brackets - you try to put brackets into an expression. You should make sure you can do well in the test bite for multiplying out brackets before you work on this bite.

For example:

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 are factors of 12
• 1, 2, 4 and x are factors of 4x

Factor pairs are numbers that multiply together to get a certain number.

For example, the factor pairs of 12 are:

• 1 & 12
• 2 & 6
• 3 & 4

You might be asked to factorise a quadratic expression, in order to solve a quadratic equation.