EXPAND

This function expands symbolic expressions by distributing products and expanding powers into sums of terms.

A typical expansion follows distributive algebra, for example:

(a+b)^2 = a^2 + 2ab + b^2

The result is returned as an expanded symbolic expression string.

Excel Usage

=EXPAND(expression)

• expression (str, required): Expression to expand.

Returns (str): String representation of the expanded expression.

Example 1: Expand a squared binomial

Inputs:

expression
(x + 1)**2

Excel formula:

=EXPAND("(x + 1)**2")

Expected output:

"x**2 + 2*x + 1"

Example 2: Expand product of two binomials

Inputs:

expression
(x + 2)*(x - 3)

Excel formula:

=EXPAND("(x + 2)*(x - 3)")

Expected output:

"x**2 - x - 6"

Example 3: Expand a cubic binomial expression

Inputs:

expression
(x - y)**3

Excel formula:

=EXPAND("(x - y)**3")

Expected output:

"x**3 - 3*x**2*y + 3*x*y**2 - y**3"

Example 4: Expand mixed symbolic terms

Inputs:

expression
(a + b)*(c + d)

Excel formula:

=EXPAND("(a + b)*(c + d)")

Expected output:

"a*c + a*d + b*c + b*d"

Python Code

from sympy import sympify
from sympy import expand as sympy_expand

def expand(expression):
    """
    Expand products and powers in a symbolic expression.

    See: https://docs.sympy.org/latest/modules/core.html#sympy.core.function.expand

    This example function is provided as-is without any representation of accuracy.

    Args:
        expression (str): Expression to expand.

    Returns:
        str: String representation of the expanded expression.
    """
    try:
        normalized_expression = expression.replace("^", "**")
        expr = sympify(normalized_expression)
        result = sympy_expand(expr)
        return str(result)
    except Exception as e:
        return f"Error: {str(e)}"

Online Calculator

expression *

Expression to expand.