1. How to factorise simple quadratic equations.

2. You need to factorise the following equation to win the pub quiz!

3. Step 1: List all the factor pairs of 24 You could use a factor pair diagram to help you. A factor pair diagram being used to find all the factors of 24. 1 2 3 4 6 8 12 24 Factor pairs are: 1 x 24, 2 x 12, 3 x 8, 4 x 6

4. Step 2: add the factor pairs together to make the coefficient of x Factor pairs 1 x 24 2 x 12 3 x 8 4 x 6 We need to make + 2. We also know that we need a negative number since we have -24. Looking at the factor pairs, we can see that + 6 – 4 would give us + 2

5. Step 3: we can now factorise since we have all the information we need.

6. However we could check we are correct by expanding the brackets. In school, you were probably shown the ‘smiley face’ method, given below. However, if you still find this rather confusing, you might consider using the grid method shown on the next page.

7. The grid method of multiplication for (x – 4)(x + 6)