20 questions with no calculator: the four operations, fractions, percentages, order of operations, factors and estimation.

✏️ Paper 1 non-calculator warm-up — Foundation

Maths · GCSE Foundation · 20 questions · ~25 min

MathsUKwww.geekhero.co.uk

Paper 1 is worth exactly as much as each calculator paper, and it is the one most Foundation students practise least. This sheet is a warm-up for it: twenty questions drawn from the number and ratio statements that turn up on the non-calculator paper year after year — column arithmetic with decimals and negatives, adding and subtracting fractions, percentages of amounts, priority of operations, factors and multiples, and estimating by rounding to one significant figure. Do it with a pen and nothing else. Twenty-five minutes is about right, but do not stop early if you need longer; the point is to find out which of these have quietly gone rusty, not to score well. Mark it, then go back to the topic page for whichever one cost you the most.

1.A gardener has 42 tulip bulbs and 56 daffodil bulbs. She plants them in rows, with every row containing the same number of tulip bulbs and the same number of daffodil bulbs, and no bulbs left over. Work out the greatest number of rows she can plant.
(a)7
(b)14
(c)2
(d)168
2.Write the fraction 3/4 as a decimal.
(a)0.7
(b)0.34
(c)0.75
(d)0.25
3.Two investors put money into a business in the ratio 3:5. The first investor puts in £1,200. Work out the total amount invested by both investors.
(a)£2,400
(b)£2,000
(c)£3,200
(d)£6,000
4.Work out 2 × 3 × 5 + 1 and decide whether the result is a prime number.
(a)30, which is not prime
(b)31, which is not prime because 31 = 1 × 31
(c)31, which is not prime because it is a multiple of 3
(d)31, which is prime
5.A number is multiplied by 4, then 8 is added, giving the result 40. Work out the number.
(a)8
(b)128
(c)2
(d)12
6.Write these three numbers in order of size, starting with the smallest: 0.7, 3/4, 0.72
(a)3/4, 0.72, 0.7
(b)3/4, 0.7, 0.72
(c)0.7, 0.72, 3/4
(d)0.72, 3/4, 0.7
7.Work out 50% of 60.
(a)6
(b)3000
(c)120
(d)30
8.Work out (−2/5) × (−10/3). Give your answer as a fraction in its simplest form.
(a)−56/15
(b)3/25
(c)−4/3
(d)4/3
9.A jumper costs £45 at Shop A, where it is reduced by 20%. The same jumper costs £34 at Shop B, where a further 10% reduction is then applied. Work out the difference between the two reduced prices.
(a)£11.00
(b)£66.60
(c)£1.60
(d)£5.40
10.Write the ratio 8 : 15 in the form 1 : n.
(a)1.875 : 1
(b)1 : 1.875
(c)8 : 1.875
(d)1 : 0.53
11.A recipe for pastry uses flour and butter in the ratio 3:2. A baker has 180 g of butter and wants to make pastry using all of it. Work out the total mass of pastry the baker can make.
(a)300 g
(b)540 g
(c)450 g
(d)270 g
12.Work out 3 + 4 × (−2).
(a)−8
(b)−5
(c)−14
(d)11
13.A charity bake sale sells 187 cakes at £2.95 each. By rounding each number to 1 significant figure, work out an estimate for the total amount raised.
(a)£600
(b)£400
(c)£561
(d)£570
14.Which of these numbers is a common factor of 18 and 24?
(a)6
(b)8
(c)12
(d)9
15.Isla and her brother share £60 in the ratio 1:2. Work out Isla's share.
(a)£40
(b)£20
(c)£120
(d)£30
16.A fruit punch is made from orange juice, pineapple juice and lemonade in the ratio 5:3:2. A jug holds 3.5 litres of punch in total. Work out the volume of pineapple juice needed.
(a)1.75 litres
(b)0.35 litres
(c)1.05 litres
(d)0.7 litres
17.Work out an estimate for 6.4 × 3.9, by rounding each number to the nearest whole number.
(a)18
(b)25
(c)24
(d)28
18.Work out the lowest common multiple of 4 and 6.
(a)12
(b)2
(c)6
(d)24
19.An amount of money is shared in the ratio 1:2:3. The largest share is £90 more than the smallest share. Work out the total amount that was shared.
(a)£180
(b)£540
(c)£135
(d)£270
20.Write 3/4 as a percentage.
(a)133%
(b)34%
(c)0.75%
(d)75%

What is on this worksheet?

The sheet holds 20 questions drawn from the MathsUK bank — the content areas covered: Number, Ratio, proportion and rates of change (statements N2, N3, N4, N10, N12, N14, R4, R5, R9). It is pitched at GCSE Foundation and takes about 25 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 20 questions before checking — about 25 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 20 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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