Simplification questions follow the BODMAS order: Brackets, Of, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction.
1Order of operations
Remove brackets in the order (), {}, [ ]
'Of' is multiplication done before division
Division and multiplication, then addition and subtraction, left to right
2Algebraic shortcuts
a² − b² = (a + b)(a − b)
(a + b)² + (a − b)² = 2(a² + b²)
a³ + b³ = (a + b)(a² − ab + b²)