GCSE Maths: Algebra — Quick Burst Practice

Inside GCSE Maths: Algebra — Quick Burst Practice

collect like terms, expand single and double brackets, factorise and solve linear equations, substitute into formulae, find the nth term, and read gradient and intercept from y = mx + c. About 10 minutes.

Learning objectives

• simplifying by collecting like terms and using index notation;
• expanding single and double brackets, and factorising with a common factor;
• solving linear equations, substituting into formulae, and finding the nth term of a linear sequence;
• reading gradient and y-intercept from y = mx + c.

Activities in this book

1. Round 1 — Simplify Sprint

   collect only like terms — the same letter to the same power. Add or subtract the numbers in front. To write a letter times itself, count how many there are and use that as the index (power).

2. Round 2 — Bracket Blast

   to expand a single bracket, multiply every term inside by the term outside. For double brackets, multiply each term in the first bracket by each term in the second, then collect the like terms.

3. Round 3 — Factorise & Solve

   to factorise, take out the highest common factor of every term. To solve, do the same operation to both sides until x is on its own — gather the x terms on one side and the numbers on the other.

4. Round 4 — Substitute & Sequences

   to substitute, swap each letter for its number and work it out with BIDMAS (powers before multiplying). For a linear sequence, the common difference is the number in front of n; check the first term to find the constant.

5. Round 5 — Lines & Final Solve

   in y = mx + c the number in front of x is the gradient m and the constant is the y-intercept c (keep its sign). To solve a bracketed equation, expand first or divide both sides by the number outside.

Suggestions for teaching

• Keep it quick. Set a timer — the point of a quick burst is fluent recall, not extended working.
• Little and often. Use these rounds as a warm-up or exit ticket rather than a full lesson.
• Fix the format. Remind learners to type expressions with no spaces (e.g. 4p+8q, 4n+1) so answers match.