FOIL method

In elementary algebra, FOIL is a mnemonic for the standard method of multiplying two binomials—hence the method may be referred to as the FOIL method. The word FOIL is an acronym for the four terms of the product:

The general form is:

Note that a is both a "first" term and an "outer" term; b is both a "last" and "inner" term, and so forth. The order of the four terms in the sum is not important, and need not match the order of the letters in the word FOIL.