Firstly, it is important to understand here that "expand" means multiply the two brackets. A logical approach can be taken to this question. Deal with the first term (x^2) of the first bracket: multiply x^2 and x to give x^3 multiply x^2 and -1 to give - x^2 *Remember to take into consideration the negative signs Deal with the second term (7) of the first bracket: multiply 7 and x to give 7x multiply 7 and -1 to give -7 Add all the individual terms together to equate: x^3 - x^2 + 7x -7 *Again remember to take into consideration the negative signs "Simplify" means to gather and add all like terms. As there are no like terms in the final expression, the answer remains as x^3 - x^2 + 7x -7