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Expand

Expand[expr]
expands out products and positive integer powers in expr.
Expand[expr, patt]
leaves unexpanded any parts of expr that are free of the pattern patt.  »
  • Expand works only on positive integer powers.
  • Expand applies only to the top level in expr.
  • Expand automatically threads over lists in expr, as well as equations, inequalities and logic functions.
EXAMPLESCLOSE ALL
Basic Examples   (1)
Expand polynomial expressions:
Expand polynomial expressions:
In[1]:=
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Out[1]=
In[2]:=
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Out[2]=
Scope   (4)
Variables need not be symbols:
Some powers can be symbolic:
Expand does not go into subexpressions; ExpandAll does:
Generalizations & Extensions   (3)
Leave parts free of x unexpanded:
Leave parts free of 1+x unexpanded:
Leave anything not matching x[_] unexpanded:
Options   (3)
Work in the field GF(2):
The modulus does not have to be a prime:
Expand a trigonometric expression:
Properties & Relations   (3)
Many functions give results in unexpanded form:
Factor is essentially the inverse of Expand:
When no powers are involved, Distribute gives the same results as Expand:
Direct application of the distributive law often generates far more terms than are needed:
Neat Examples   (3)
Create a nested pattern corresponding to an additive cellular automaton (rule 60):
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