Factorising Quadratics
This series of games is lots of fun and it will teach you about a very important concept in mathematics. Only when you can factorise quadratic expressions like the one in the red cell on the left will you be able to solve quadratic equations (one of the holy grails of high school mathematics).
This page addresses the following item from the syllabus:
Algebraic Manipulation
- Factorise expressions in the form
- a²x - b²y²
- a² + 2ab + b²
- ax² + bx + c
Resources & Description
Factorising by extracting Common Factors
Should you need an introduction to factorising you might like to try 
Factorising Puzzle first.
Sums and Products Puzzle
In this game you are given the answers in the blue boxes - the product and the sum. You have to work out the two numbers that go in the yellow boxes that multiply together to give the product and also add together to give the sum. In the case below the answer would be 3 and 9, as 3x9=27 and 3+9=12.
Click on the image below or 
Sums and Products Puzzle to open the file.
You may need to change the security settings of Excel to allow macros.
Factorising Quadratic Expressions
Now we move on the main activity. Below is an example of what you need to do. A quadratic expression is given on the left and your job is to factorise it by filling in the yellow boxes. Should you a hint the help button will give you the factors of the final number (in this case 15). Try not to rely on using this button. You should realise that this is related to the activity that you have just done. If you need further help with this activity check out the demonstration below. Click on the image below or 
Factorising quadratics to open the file and work you way through as many of the questions as you can. Good luck!
You may need to change the security settings of Excel to allow macros.
Help
Need help with the last activity? Click on the image below or 
How to factorise and launch the PowerPoint presentation.
