What is expanding in maths?

Answer 1

Expanding in mathematics typically refers to simplifying an expression to its simplest form. For example, this expression:

(2x+1)(x+5)

could be expanded by multiplying the two quantities together using FOIL (First-Outer-Inner-Last):

(2x*x) + (2x*5) + (1*x) + (1*5)

^first ^outer ^inner ^last

and then simplifying to come up with a final, expanded answer:

2x2 + 11x + 5