18 demanding questions: algebraic proof, functions, vectors, histograms, conditional probability and iteration.
🔺 Higher stretch — grade 8 and 9 topics
The top of a Higher paper is not the same content done faster — it is the statements that only appear at the top, and questions that hide two steps inside one instruction. This sheet gathers eighteen of them: algebraic proof and showing two expressions are equivalent, inverse and composite functions, transformations of graphs, the equation of a circle and its tangent, iteration, vectors used to construct a geometric argument, histograms with unequal class intervals, and conditional probability from a tree or a Venn diagram. It is deliberately hard and deliberately short. If you get half of it out, you are working where grades 8 and 9 are decided — and the worked answers are written to show the step that was actually being tested, not just the arithmetic around it.
- 1.A number machine multiplies its input by 3 and then adds 7. The output is 1. Work out the input.
- 2.m is the column vector with top number 4 and bottom number 6. n is the column vector with top number −6 and bottom number −9. Given that n = k × m for some number k, work out the value of k.
- 3.The point (5, −12) lies on the circle x² + y² = 169, which has centre (0, 0). Work out the equation of the tangent to the circle at (5, −12), giving your answer in the form y = mx + c.
- 4.A box contains 9 red balls and 11 green balls. Two balls are taken out at random, one after the other, without being replaced. Given that both balls taken out are the same colour, work out the probability that both balls are red.
- 5.A rule turns each input into an output. An input of 0 gives an output of −1, an input of 1 gives an output of 1, and an input of 2 gives an output of 3. Work out the rule, writing the input as x and the output as y.
- 6.f(x) = x³ − 3x − 20, and the equation f(x) = 0 has exactly one solution. Work out the pair of consecutive integers between which that solution lies.y = x
- 7.Describe the single transformation that maps the graph of y = f(x) onto the graph of y = f(−x).
- 8.The masses, m grams, of 100 apples are grouped like this: 100 ≤ m < 120, 10 apples; 120 ≤ m < 140, 30 apples; 140 ≤ m < 160, 40 apples; 160 ≤ m < 200, 20 apples. Estimate the median mass.
- 9.A circle has equation x² + y² = 25. Does the point (3, 4) lie on this circle?
- 10.The times, t minutes, of 70 visits to a website are grouped into two classes: 0 ≤ t < 4, which contains 30 visits, and 4 ≤ t < 20, which contains 40 visits. A histogram is drawn. Work out how many times taller the bar for 0 ≤ t < 4 is than the bar for 4 ≤ t < 20.
- 11.f(x) = 3x − 2. Find f⁻¹(x).y = 3x − 2
- 12.The equation x² = 5x − 3 is to be solved using iteration. Work out which of these iterative formulas comes from a correct rearrangement of the equation.
- 13.f(x) = 2x + 1. Work out the value of x for which f⁻¹(x) = 5.y = 2x + 1
- 14.The point (3, 4) lies on the circle x² + y² = 25, which has centre (0, 0). Work out the gradient of the tangent to the circle at (3, 4).
- 15.Forty pupils in class P and forty pupils in class Q each solved a puzzle. The times, in seconds, were summarised using cumulative frequency. For class P the lower quartile is 24, the median is 38 and the upper quartile is 46. For class Q the lower quartile is 30, the median is 35 and the upper quartile is 44. Write down the statement that correctly compares the two classes.
- 16.The graph of y = f(x) has a root (an x-intercept) at x = 5. Work out the x-coordinate of the corresponding root on the graph of y = f(x + 2).
- 17.In triangle OAB, OA = a and OB = b. M is the midpoint of OA, and N is the midpoint of OB. Express the vector MN in terms of a and b.
- 18.A number machine multiplies its input by 2 and then subtracts 5. Work out the output when the input is 6.
What is on this worksheet?
The sheet holds 18 questions drawn from the MathsUK bank — the content areas covered: Algebra, Geometry and measures, Probability, Statistics (statements A6, A7, A13, A16, A20, G25, S3, P9). It is pitched at GCSE Higher and takes about 50 minutes to work through in full. It is built for independent practice, with full answers at the end for self-marking.
How to use the sheet well
- Print it or open it on screen — both work. Printing is A4; the screen view fits phones and tablets.
- Do all 18 questions before checking — about 50 minutes is the guide, but there is no time pressure.
- Check the answers — press “Show answers” or print the answer page separately.
- Redo the questions you got wrong — twice as effective as doing 18 fresh ones.
- “New questions” — builds a fresh sheet on the same statements, so you can practise again without repeats.
Why this sheet helps
MathsUK worksheets use questions graded by difficulty and a fair spread of correct-answer positions (the answer is not always (a)) — so the student really has to think about each question rather than guess a pattern. Every question is tagged to a DfE content statement and checked before it enters the bank. The answers come with a step-by-step explanation, not just a value — so a wrong answer becomes a lesson.
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