Year 9 Factorising Expressions (Common Factors) Worksheet — Level 1 — Practice Set 2 — Answers
Answer sheet with worked solutions for the Year 9 algebraic expressions worksheet.
Year 9 Factorising Expressions (Common Factors) Worksheet — Level 1 — Practice Set 2 — Answers
Find the highest common factor of the terms and write it outside the brackets.
1.Factorise fully: 9x − 9
Answer: 9(x − 1)
- Highest common factor: 9
- 9x − 9 = 9(x − 1)
- Check by expanding the brackets.
2.Factorise fully: 3x + 27
Answer: 3(x + 9)
- Highest common factor: 3
- 3x + 27 = 3(x + 9)
- Check by expanding the brackets.
3.Factorise fully: 12x + 4
Answer: 4(3x + 1)
- Highest common factor: 4
- 12x + 4 = 4(3x + 1)
- Check by expanding the brackets.
4.Factorise fully: 18x + 12
Answer: 6(3x + 2)
- Highest common factor: 6
- 18x + 12 = 6(3x + 2)
- Check by expanding the brackets.
5.Factorise fully: 24x + 54
Answer: 6(4x + 9)
- Highest common factor: 6
- 24x + 54 = 6(4x + 9)
- Check by expanding the brackets.
6.Factorise fully: 40x − 16
Answer: 8(5x − 2)
- Highest common factor: 8
- 40x − 16 = 8(5x − 2)
- Check by expanding the brackets.
7.Factorise fully: 12x − 18
Answer: 6(2x − 3)
- Highest common factor: 6
- 12x − 18 = 6(2x − 3)
- Check by expanding the brackets.
8.Factorise fully: 24x − 40
Answer: 8(3x − 5)
- Highest common factor: 8
- 24x − 40 = 8(3x − 5)
- Check by expanding the brackets.
9.Factorise fully: 20x − 8
Answer: 4(5x − 2)
- Highest common factor: 4
- 20x − 8 = 4(5x − 2)
- Check by expanding the brackets.
10.Factorise fully: 21x + 35
Answer: 7(3x + 5)
- Highest common factor: 7
- 21x + 35 = 7(3x + 5)
- Check by expanding the brackets.
11.Factorise fully: 12x − 16
Answer: 4(3x − 4)
- Highest common factor: 4
- 12x − 16 = 4(3x − 4)
- Check by expanding the brackets.
12.Factorise fully: 2x + 18
Answer: 2(x + 9)
- Highest common factor: 2
- 2x + 18 = 2(x + 9)
- Check by expanding the brackets.
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.