What Is Expanded Form in Math?

In discussion of place value, expanded form is when a number is broken down into each place value with an addition sign placed between each number. For example, 356 would be 300+50+6 in expanded form. When an expression is factored, it changes the expression into expanded form. x²-4 would factor into the expanded form of (x-2)(x+2). The expanded form of quadratic equations is often more useful in graphing than the standard form.