Area model algebra – expanding and factorising

MathematicsAlgebraAges 13–14

Drag four coefficients to change two binomials a·x + b that form the sides of a rectangle; the rectangle splits into up to 4 cells, each a partial product coloured by sign (green for positive, red for negative), and the cells add up exactly to the expanded polynomial shown in FOIL form below. The Game screen has 3 levels × 5 questions: find a partial product, find the expanded polynomial, then find the missing factor given the polynomial and one factor, linking directly to factorising polynomials. Adapted from the "Area Model: Algebra" simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (CC BY 4.0); rewritten.

Lesson: Expanding brackets and factorising quadratics