GCSE :: Factorising Quadratics

Factorising Overview
Factorising is useful because it
enables us to solve harder
Algebraic factorising means : equations. You will cover this
To turn an expression into a product of expressions.
? separately in “Solving Quadratic
Equations”.
A quadratic expression is:
An expression where the highest power is 2, e.g. , , .
? expressions of the form )
(A quadratic is an example of a polynomial, i.e.

Single-Bracket Factorisation
Factorise
2 𝑥 2+4 𝑥𝑧 2 𝑥 ( 𝑥+2 𝑧)
Double-Bracket Factorisation
Factorise
𝑥 2+3 𝑥+2 ( 𝑥+1)(𝑥 +2)
A Level Factorisation
Factorise
3 2
2 𝑥 +3 𝑥 −11 𝑥 −6 (2 𝑥 +1)( 𝑥 − 2)( 𝑥 +3)
RECAP :: Identifying a Common Factor

When factorising expressions, always first look for a common

factor to all the terms:

What do and both have in

common?

2 Factorise
2𝑥 +𝑥 2𝑥 (
𝑥 +1)
And times what gives us ?

means , so and have in

Note that factorising is the
common. We “factorise this
opposite of expanding, so we
out”, with a single bracket
now think, “ times what
after.
would give us ?”.
Further Example

What do and both have in

common?

2 Factorise
8 𝑥 − 12 𝑥 42 𝑥
𝑥−3
()

A common error is to fail to “fully

Again, we ask “ times what
factorise”, e.g. to only factorise
would give us ?”.
out the or the , but not . Always
factorise out as much as
possible.
Quickfire Questions

𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐𝟐
𝟑𝒙+𝒙 𝟑𝒙 +𝟔𝒙𝒙 𝒚−𝒙𝒚𝟏𝟎𝒙𝒚𝒛−𝟏𝟓𝒙 𝒙𝒚 𝒛 −𝟐𝒙 𝒚𝒛 +𝒙 𝒚
𝑥(3 +𝑥 ) 3 𝑥(𝑥 +2) 𝑥𝑦 ( 𝑥 − 𝑦 ) 5 𝑥𝑦 ( 2 𝑧 −3 𝑥 ) 𝑥𝑦 ( 𝑧 − 2 𝑥 𝑧 +𝑥𝑦 )
2
 Exercise 1a
14
1 ?
?
2 ? Note: We tend to factorise any fraction
out, to leave whole numbers inside the
3 ? bracket, e.g.
4 ?
5 ?
14
6 ? ?
7 ? 15 ?
8 ? 16
9 ?
Note that
?
10 ?
11 ?
N
12
?
13 ?
?
Factorising out a common bracket

Sometimes the common factor might be an entire bracket!

The principle remains the same… Exam Note: This skill more
typically appears in AQA
Further Maths papers, but
2
( 𝑥+3 ) +2 ( 𝑥+3 )
has been seen in the
standard GCSE.

( 𝑥+ 𝑥+3
3) +2
() and both have a common
factor of , so as usual, we
¿ ( 𝑥+3 )( 𝑥+5 ) put this common factor on
front of a blank bracket.

As we would usually do, we “…and times what would

ask “ times what would give give us ?”
us ?”

In this particular case, it may be easier to expand everything out first before ‘refactorising’:
Further Example

Factorise

¿ (𝑝 𝑝 −− 𝑞+𝑝+
𝑞3 )( )
¿ ( 𝑝 − 𝑞 ) ( 2 𝑝 − 𝑞+ 3 )
Test Your Understanding

AQA Further Maths June 2012 Paper 1

Factorise the following:

Factorise

( 𝑥+2 ) ( 5 ( 𝑥+2 ) +3 ) ?
Exercise 1b
1 Factorise fully 5 Factorise fully

? ?
2 [Edexcel] Factorise fully 6 Factorise fully

?
3 [Edexcel 2004] Factorise fully ?
?
4 Factorise

?
Seven different types of factorisation
1. Factoring out a single term 2.

2 𝑥 2 +4 𝑥 =2 𝑥 ( 𝑥?+2 ) 𝑥2 + 4 𝑥 −5=( 𝒙 +𝟓 ) ( 𝒙 −𝟏 )
his! less on
ne t ay ’s
e’ve do Tod
W
3. Difference of two squares 4.
4 𝑥 2 −1= ( 𝟐 𝒙 +𝟏 ) ( 𝟐 𝒙 −𝟏 ) 2 𝑥 2 + 𝑥 −3=(𝟐 𝒙 +𝟑)( 𝒙 −𝟏)

5. Combining techniques

𝑥 − 𝑥=𝒙 ( 𝒙 −𝟏 )
3 𝟐

EXTENSION: 6. “Pairwise” EXTENSION: 7. Intelligent Guesswork

3 2 2 2 2
𝑥 +2𝑥 −𝑥−2=𝑥 ( 𝑥+2)− 1( 𝑥+2) 𝑥 +𝑦 +2 𝑥𝑦+𝑥+𝑦
STARTER :: Patterns when expanding brackets
Expand the following brackets. Do you notice anything about the
relationship between the coefficient of and constant term, and
the numbers in the original brackets?
Key Terms:
• The coefficient of an
i.e. How could we get these numbers instantly
from the 2 and the 3 in the brackets? algebraic term is the
number/constant in
front of it. So the
2
( 𝑥+2 ) ( 𝑥+3 )= 𝑥 +5 𝑥+ 6 coefficient of is 3 and
the coefficient of is 5.
• A constant term is one
without any variables in
it. So in , the constant
? term is 5.
?
?
The term in the middle term (“the The third term (the constant term) is
coefficient of ”) is the sum of the the product of the numbers in the
numbers in the two brackets. two brackets.
TYPE 2:

and
times to
and add to give 2.
give 3.

How does this suggest we can factorise say ?

?
2 and 1 add to give 3 (the number in front of the ),
and multiply to give 2 (the constant term)

2
𝑥 +11 𝑥 +30=( 𝑥+6 ) ?( 𝑥 +5 )
30 1 Fro Tip: Think of the factor pairs of 30. You want
31 2 a pair where the sum or difference of the two
32 3 numbers is the middle number (11).
6 5
Further Examples
Recall that we need to find two numbers that add to
give -2 and multiply to give -24. Writing these symbols
may be a helpful visual reminder.
⊕ ⊗
𝑥 − 2 𝑥 − 24¿ ( 𝒙 +𝟒 ) ( 𝒙 −𝟔 )
2

1 24 You’re welcome to factorise mentally, but some

students find it helpful to write out the factor pairs
2 12
of the last number first. Find the pair where the sum
3 8 or the difference is the middle number (-2).
4 6
4 and 6 looks promising, as they differ by 2.

But they need to multiply to give negative 24, so one of

the numbers must be negative. Out of -4 and 6,
or 4 and -6, which add to give -2?

2
¿( 𝑥 − 3)(𝑥 −2)
𝑥 − 5 𝑥 +6
They multiply to give positive 6. But these numbers
must add to give -5. So they must both be negative
(recall that )
Test Your Understanding

2
1 𝑥 +6 𝑥+5=( 𝑥+5)(?𝑥+1)
2
2
𝑥 −12 𝑥 +35=( 𝑥 −7 ) ( 𝑥? − 5 )
2
3 𝑥 +5 𝑥 −14=( 𝑥+7)( 𝑥
? − 2)

2 2
4 𝑥 +6 𝑥 + 9= ( 𝑥 ?+3 )
2 2
5
𝑥 − 6 𝑥 +9 = ( 𝑥 ?− 3 )
Exercise 2
1 ? 12
2 ? ?
3 ? 13
4 ? ?
5 ? 14
6 ? ?
7 ? 15
8 ? ?
9 ?
10 ?
11 ?
Killers
N1 ?
N4 ?
N2 ? N5 ?
N3 ?
Seven different types of factorisation
1. Factoring out a single term 2.

2 𝑥 2 +4 𝑥 =2 𝑥 ( 𝑥?+2 ) 𝑥2 + 4 𝑥 −5=( 𝒙 +𝟓 )?( 𝒙 −𝟏 )

! !
o ne this
do ne this
ed We’ve
We’v
3. Difference of two squares 4.
4 𝑥 2 −1= ( 𝟐 𝒙 +𝟏 ) ( 𝟐 𝒙 −𝟏 ) s on
2 𝑥 2 + 𝑥 −3=(𝟐 𝒙 +𝟑)( 𝒙 −𝟏)
’s l es
Today
5. Combining techniques

𝑥 − 𝑥=𝒙 ( 𝒙 −𝟏 )
3 𝟐

EXTENSION: 6. “Pairwise” EXTENSION: 7. Intelligent Guesswork

3 2 2 2 2
𝑥 +2𝑥 −𝑥−2=𝑥 ( 𝑥+2)− 1( 𝑥+2) 𝑥 +𝑦 +2 𝑥𝑦+𝑥+𝑦
TYPE 3: Difference of two squares

Firstly, what is the square root of:

√4 𝑥 2
=?2 𝑥 √ 25 𝑦 2
=5? 𝑦

√ 16 𝑥 2
𝑦
2
=4 𝑥𝑦
? √𝑥4
𝑦 4 2 2
=𝑥 𝑦
?

√ 9 ( 𝑧 −6 ) =3 ( 𝑧 −6
2
? )
TYPE 3: Difference of two squares
We have ‘the difference of two squares’ when, unsurprisingly, we have two ‘square’

√
2𝑥
2𝑥 3
terms, and the difference between them!

2√
4 𝑥 −9
Always start with two brackets, one with a +, one with a –

¿ ¿
Click to Start
Fromanimation
Quickfire Examples
2
1− 𝑥 =(1+ 𝑥)(1−
? 𝑥) Note that
order matters.
2 is not the
𝑦 − 16=( 𝑦 + 4)(
? 𝑦 − 4) same as

2 2 2
𝑥 𝑦 −9 𝑎 =( 𝑥𝑦 + 3 𝑎 ) ?( 𝑥𝑦 − 3 𝑎 )
2
25 − 𝑝 =(5 +𝑝 ?)(5 − 𝑝)

2 2
4 𝑥 −9 𝑦 =(2 𝑥 +3 𝑦 )(2
? 𝑥 −3 𝑦 )
Test Your Understanding

Factorise:

2
𝑥 − 36=( 𝒙 +𝟔 ? ) ( 𝒙 − 𝟔)
2
𝑦 − 49= ( 𝒚 +𝟕 ? ) (𝒚 −𝟕 )
2
4 −9 𝑥 =( 𝟐+𝟑 𝒙? )( 𝟐 −𝟑 𝒙 )
2 2
1− 4 𝑝 𝑞 =( 𝟏+𝟐 𝒑𝒒 ) ?( 𝟏− 𝟐 𝒑𝒒 )
Extension :: Challenge Questions

( 𝑥+1) − ( 𝑥−1) =([ 𝒙+𝟏] +[ 𝒙−𝟏] ) ([ 𝒙 +𝟏] − [ 𝒙 −𝟏] )

2 2
?

49 − ( 1− 𝑥 ) =( 𝟕+ [ 𝟏? − 𝒙 ] )( 𝟕 − [ 𝟏 − 𝒙 ]
2

512 − 49 2=( 𝟓𝟏+𝟒𝟗 ) (𝟓𝟏 − 𝟒𝟗?) =𝟏𝟎𝟎 ×𝟐=𝟐𝟎𝟎

2 2
( 2 𝑡 +1 ) − 9 ( 𝑡 − 6 ) =( 5 𝑡 − 17 ) (?− 𝑡 +19 )
Exercise 3
1 ? N4 [IMO] What is the highest power
of 2 that is a factor of ?
2 ?
3 ? So the highest power is 8.
4 ? ?
5 ?
6 ? N5 Find four prime numbers less than
7 ? 100 which are factors of (Hint: you
8 ? can keep factorising!)
9 So clearly 5 is a factor. 𝟑𝟐+𝟐𝟐=𝟏𝟑 which is also a
? prime factor. 𝟑𝟒+𝟐𝟒=𝟖𝟏+𝟏𝟔=𝟗𝟕 which is prime.
𝟑𝟖+𝟐𝟖=𝟔𝟖𝟏𝟕. This fails all the divisibility tests
N1 for the primes up to 11, and dividing by 13 (by

? normal division) fails, but dividing by 17 (again

by normal division) works, giving us our fourth
N2 ? ?
prime. (Alternatively, noting that , then , so 17
is a factor)
N3
?
Seven different types of factorisation
1. Factoring out a single term 2.

2 𝑥 2 +4 𝑥 =2 𝑥 ( 𝑥?+2 ) 𝑥2 + 4 𝑥 −5=( 𝒙 +𝟓 )?( 𝒙 −𝟏 )

! !
o ne this
do ne this
ed We’ve
We’v
3. Difference of two squares 4.
4 𝑥 2 −1= ( 𝟐 𝒙 +𝟏 )?( 𝟐 𝒙 −𝟏 ) 2
this!
𝑥 2
+ 𝑥 −3=(𝟐 𝒙 +𝟑)( 𝒙 −𝟏)
e on
e’ve don y ’s l es s
W Toda
5. Combining techniques

𝑥 − 𝑥=𝒙 ( 𝒙 −𝟏 )
3 𝟐

EXTENSION: 6. “Pairwise” EXTENSION: 7. Intelligent Guesswork

3 2 2 2 2
𝑥 +2𝑥 −𝑥−2=𝑥 ( 𝑥+2)− 1( 𝑥+2) 𝑥 +𝑦 +2 𝑥𝑦+𝑥+𝑦
TYPE 4:
2
2𝑥 + 𝑥 −3
Factorise using: b. Splitting the middle term
a. ‘Going commando’* Again, need two numbers which
add to give two numbers.

2 𝑥 2 + 𝑥 −3 ⊕1
Essentially ‘intelligent guessing’ of the
two brackets, by considering what
your guess would expand to. We use these two
numbers (3 and -2) to Unlike before, we want two
numbers which multiply to give

(2 𝑥? +3)(
? 𝑥
? −1)
?
‘split the middle term’.
Everything else remains
the same.
the first times the last number.

Factorise first
2
2 𝑥 +3 𝑥 −2 𝑥 −3 and second
half separately.

Leave a space and duplicate the

How would we get the bracket. Then what fills the gap to
term in the expansion? expand to give ?

How could we get the -3? ¿ 𝑥 ( 2−1

𝑥(2+3
𝑥 +3))
There’s a
¿(2 𝑥+3)( 𝑥 − 1) common factor
of

* Not official mathematical terminology.

Further Example

2
⊕17
12 𝑥 +17 𝑥 −5 60 1
30 2 This looks good as difference
of 20 and 3 is 17.
20 3 Numbers are 20 and -3.
2
¿ 12 𝑥 + 20 𝑥 −3 𝑥 −5 Note that it doesn’t matter whether
we split as or . You’ll end up with same
final result.

A common error is to not fully

¿ 4 𝑥 (3 𝑥+5) −1(3 𝑥+5) factorise, e.g. writing or . This causes

problems with factorising the second
half.

¿ ( 3 𝑥+5 )( 4 𝑥 −1 )
One Final Example

2
⊕−9
4 𝑥 −9 𝑥 − 9 36 1
18 2
12 3
2
¿ 4 𝑥 −12 𝑥 +3 𝑥 − 9

Make sure you write +3 and not just 3,

¿ 4 𝑥 ( 𝑥 − 3) +3( 𝑥 −3) as would mean you are multiplying by

the and not adding it.

¿ ( 𝑥 − 3 ) ( 4 𝑥+3 )
Test Your Understanding

For this one splitting the middle term is difficult! Use ‘intelligent guessing’
of the two brackets.

?
Exercise 4
1 ?
2 ?
3 ?
4 ?
5
? ‘Commando’ starts
6 ? to become difficult
7 ? from this question
onwards because
8 ? the coefficient of is
9 ? not prime.
10 ?
11 ?

N1 ?
N2 ?
Seven different types of factorisation
1. Factoring out a single term 2.

2 𝑥 2 +4 𝑥 =2 𝑥 ( 𝑥?+2 ) 𝑥2 + 4 𝑥 −5=( 𝒙 +𝟓 )?( 𝒙 −𝟏 )

! !
o ne this
do ne this
ed We’ve
We’v
3. Difference of two squares 4.
4 𝑥 2 −1= ( 𝟐 𝒙 +𝟏 )?( 𝟐 𝒙 −𝟏 ) 2
this!
𝑥 2
+ 𝑥 −3=(𝟐 𝒙 +𝟑)(
? 𝒙 −𝟏)
e
e’ve don this!
W do ne
5. Combining techniques We’ve

𝑥 − 𝑥=𝒙 ( 𝒙 −𝟏 )
3 𝟐
ay ’s l es s on
Tod
EXTENSION: 6. “Pairwise” EXTENSION: 7. Intelligent Guesswork

3 2 2 2 2
𝑥 +2𝑥 −𝑥−2=𝑥 ( 𝑥+2)− 1( 𝑥+2) 𝑥 +𝑦 +2 𝑥𝑦+𝑥+𝑦
Combining Factorisation Techniques
In harder questions, particularly in the AQA IGCSE Further Maths course,
you may have to factorise multiple times or combine different factorisation
methods. Key Skill: Always look for a
common factor first.

There’s a common factor of .

𝑥 − 𝑥=𝒙 ( 𝒙? −𝟏 )
3 𝟐
?
We have the difference
of two squares!

2𝑥 −50=𝟐 ( 𝒙 ?−𝟐𝟓 )
2 𝟐?

3 2 𝟐
𝑥 +3 𝑥 +2𝑥=𝒙 (𝒙 +𝟑? 𝒙+𝟐)
Test Your Understanding

8 𝑥 −2=𝟐 ( 𝟒?𝒙 −𝟏 )
2 𝟐
1

𝑥 − 𝑥 −6 𝑥 =𝒙 ( 𝒙 − 𝒙−𝟔 )
2 4 3 2 𝟐 𝟐 ?

𝑥 − 1=( 𝒙 +𝟏 )( 𝒙? −𝟏 )
4 𝟐 𝟐
3

Note: It is not possible to factorise

the ‘sum of two squares’.
Exercise 5
Factorise the following expressions.

1 ?
2 ?
3 ?
4 ?
5 ?
6 ?
7 ?
8 ?
N ?
 E l ev e l
for G C S
t ’s i t int! o
Tha t his p
b eyond
ns io n stuff
Ex te
RECAP ::

Method A: Guessing the brackets Method B: Splitting the middle term

?
?

Both of these methods can

be extended to more
general expressions.

This method of ‘intelligent After we split the middle term, we

guessing’ can be extended to looked at the expression in two
non-quadratic expressions. pairs and factorised.
I call more general usage of this
‘pairwise factorisation’.
TYPE 5: Intelligent Guessing
Just think what brackets would expand to give you expression. Look at each
term one by one.

2
𝑥 +𝑎𝑥 +𝑏𝑥 +𝑎𝑏
It works!

¿ +𝑎) (
𝑥( 𝑥 +𝑏
)
This factorisation will become particularly important if you ever
cover something called ‘Diophantine Equations’.

𝑎𝑏 −𝑎+𝑏−1 ?
Test Your Understanding

𝑥𝑦+3𝑥−2𝑦−6=(𝒙 −𝟐) ( 𝒚 +𝟑)

1 ?
2 ?
3 ?
N

Fro Tip: Notice that there’s an ‘algebraic

Fro Tip: The arose because of collecting like
terms in the expansion. It might therefore be
easier to first think how we get the ‘easier’
terms like the (where the coefficient of the
term is 1) when we try to fill in the brackets.
symmetry’ in and , as and could be
swapped without changing the expression.
But there’s an asymmetry in .
This gives hints about the factorisation, as
the same symmetry must be seen.
TYPE 6: Pairwise Factorisation
We saw earlier with splitting the middle term that we can factorise different
parts of the expression separately and hope that a common term emerges.

2
𝑥 +𝑎𝑥+𝑏𝑥+𝑎𝑏=¿ ?
?

3 2
𝑥 −2𝑥 −𝑥+2 ?
?
?

2 2
𝑥 − 𝑦 +4 𝑥+4 𝑦 ?
?
Test Your Understanding

2
𝑥 −𝑥𝑦+2𝑥−2𝑦
1

𝑎𝑏+𝑎+𝑏+1
2

3 2
𝑥 −3𝑥 −4𝑥+12
3

2 2
𝑎 +𝑏 +2𝑎𝑏+𝑎𝑐+𝑏𝑐
N
Can you split the terms
into two blocks, where
in each block you can ?
factorise?
Challenge Wall!
1 2
Instructions: Divide your paper into four. Try and get as far up the
3 4 wall as possible, then hold up your answers for me to check.
Use any method of factorisation.
Warning: Pairwise factorisation doesn’t always work. You
sometimes have to resort to ‘intelligent guessing’.

2 2
4 𝑥 + 𝑦 +2 𝑥𝑦 −1=( 𝒙 + 𝒚 +𝟏)(? 𝒙 + 𝒚 − 𝟏)
3 2
𝑥
3 +2 𝑥 − 9 𝑥 − 18=( 𝒙 + 𝟑)( 𝒙 ?−𝟑)( 𝒙 +𝟐)

2𝑥 𝑦 2+3 𝑦 2+ 𝑥 +3=( 𝒙 +𝟑)( 𝒚

? 𝟐+𝟏)

1 𝑥𝑦 − 𝑥 − 𝑦 +1=( 𝒙 −𝟏)( 𝒚?− 𝟏)

Exercise 5
Factorise the following using either ‘pairwise factorisation’ or ‘intelligent guessing’.

1 ?
2 ?
3 ?
4 ?
5 ?
6 ? N1 ?
7 ? N2
8 ? ?
9 ? N3
10 ? ?
11 ? N4
12 ? ?
13 N5
? ?
14 ?
Summary
For the following expressions, identify which of the following factorisation techniques that we use, out
of: (it may be multiple!)
1 Factorising out single term:
2 Simple quadratic factorisation:
3 Difference Of Two Squares:
4 Commando/Splitting Middle Term:
5 Pairwise:
6 Intelligent Guesswork:

(1) ?
(3) ?
(1), (3) ?
(2) ?
(4) ?
(2), (6) ?
(5) ?
(1), (2) ?
(5) or (6) ?
(1), (3) ?