This week I learnt how to use an area model to expand an expression. It’s very useful since it organizes everything so you don’t miss a step while multiplying terms. Heres an example:
Draw a lowercase T and divide the bottom and right according to the number of terms in the expression. Since a binomial is being multiplied by a trinomial, the top is divided in two and the sides are divided in three.
Now plug the numbers into their corresponding spots:
Then, you simply multiply the numbers together! You can almost think of it like playing battleship:
I have colour coded all the like terms together. The ones that are the same colour are added together, and the final answer is 
