Simplifying and Solving with Algebraic Fractions

Simplifying and manipulating algebraic expressions involving sums, products, differences, and positive integer powers, by: collecting like terms; factorising using common factors; factorising quadratic expressions with a leading coefficient of 1; expanding products, including multiplying a single term by a bracketed term, and multiplying two expressions each of the form ax + b, where a and b are integers; factorising by grouping (i.e. using the distributive law) (e.g. x^2 + 2x − 8 = x^2 + 4x − 2x − 8 = x(x + 4) − 2(x + 4) = (x − 2)(x + 4))