About this worksheet

This free Year 8 expanding brackets worksheet is written for the Western Australian curriculum and mapped to SCSA content description WA8MNAA3. It targets one skill so students can practise until it sticks: by the end, students can say “I can use the distributive law to expand brackets, including negative multipliers, and then collect like terms.”

What’s inside

• Key idea box – a short explanation with worked examples to read before starting.
• A · Fluency (16 questions) – quick practice to build accuracy.
• B · Core (10 questions) – worded problems set in everyday Australian contexts.
• C · Reasoning (4 questions) – explain, justify and spot the error.
• D · Challenge (4 questions) – harder multi-step and problem-solving questions for students ready to stretch.
• Separate marking key – every answer with working, plus mark allocations and marking criteria for reasoning questions.

Skills covered

• Expanding brackets with the distributive law and area models
• Expanding with negative multipliers
• Expanding and simplifying two sets of brackets

How to use this worksheet

Start with the Key idea box, then complete Section A (use a calculator only where a question says so). Most students should attempt Sections B and C; Section D suits students aiming for the top of the class or preparing for accelerated or extension maths. The worksheet is marked out of 58, and the score box on the last page helps students see which section needs more practice.

Common mistakes to watch for

• Multiplying only the first term in the bracket
• Getting −3(a − 5) = −3a − 15
• Writing x(x + 3) = x² + 3
• Not collecting like terms after expanding

Where this fits in the WA Year 8 sequence

Expanding Brackets sits in the Algebraic techniques sub-strand of Number and algebra. It is one of a set of short, single-skill EduLift worksheets that split each Year 8 content description into sub-skills. Use the previous and next links to work through the sequence in order.

Common errors we see in tutoring

• Multiplying only the first term in the bracket
• Getting −3(a − 5) = −3a − 15
• Writing x(x + 3) = x² + 3
• Not collecting like terms after expanding