Expand binomial products using the First, Outer, Inner, Last method.
Binomial Coefficients
First Binomial (ax + b)
Second Binomial (cx + d)
Expansion Results
x² + 5x + 6
Expanded Form
Results for (ax + b)(cx + d)
Breakdown
First (F)
1x²
Outer (O)
3x
Inner (I)
2x
Last (L)
6
About this calculator
What is FOIL?
FOIL is a mnemonic for the standard method of multiplying two binomials. Each letter stands for which terms to multiply: First (the first term of each binomial), Outer (the outermost terms), Inner (the innermost terms), and Last (the last term of each binomial).
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Pro Tips
Combine Like Terms: After the four multiplications, the Outer and Inner terms can usually be added together.
Negative Signs: Be careful with negative coefficients; the FOIL process remains the same but signs will change.
Beyond Binomials: For larger polynomials, the FOIL method is replaced by the general distributive property.
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Fun Facts
"The FOIL method is essentially a shortcut for applying the distributive property twice."
"Mastering FOIL is the key to 'undoing' the expansion, which is called factoring."
"The degree of the product of two linear binomials is always 2 (a quadratic)."
