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.Is 120 divisible by 5? Give a reason for your answer.
(a)Yes, because 120 ends in 0
(b)No, because 1 + 2 + 0 = 3 is not a multiple of 5
(c)Yes, because 120 is even
(d)No, because 5 does not divide into 12
2.Work out how many factors 36 has.
(a)5
(b)10
(c)8
(d)9
3.Write 0.45 as a fraction in its simplest form.
(a)9/20
(b)9/2
(c)9/100
(d)9/200
4.At an animal shelter, the ratio of cats to dogs is 2:5. There are 18 more dogs than cats. Work out the number of cats.
(a)6
(b)12
(c)9
(d)30
5.Which of these ratios is equivalent to 2:3?
(a)12:8
(b)8:12
(c)4:5
(d)8:3
6.Write 90 as a product of its prime factors.
(a)2 × 3² × 5
(b)2 × 45
(c)2 × 3 × 15
(d)3 × 3 × 10
7.Write the mixed number 2 1/4 as an improper fraction.
(a)7/4
(b)9/4
(c)3/4
(d)5/4
8.Work out (−3) × 4 + 10
(a)−42
(b)−2
(c)−22
(d)22
9.Work out 100 − 4 × 5²
(a)0
(b)2400
(c)60
(d)−300
10.A jug holds 3 1/3 litres of juice. Each glass holds 2/3 of a litre. Work out how many glasses can be filled from the jug.
(a)5
(b)20/9
(c)5/3
(d)2
11.In the number 3.472, work out the value of the digit 7.
(a)0.007
(b)0.7
(c)0.07
(d)7
12.There are 400 students at a school. 25% of them have a brother, 40% have a sister and 15% have both a brother and a sister. Work out how many of the students have neither a brother nor a sister.
(a)140 students
(b)300 students
(c)200 students
(d)260 students
13.Four students work out 6 + 2 × 3. Which student has worked it out correctly?
(a)Chen: 6 × 2 = 12, then 12 + 3 = 15
(b)Dev: 2 × 3 = 5, then 6 + 5 = 11
(c)Ben: 2 × 3 = 6, then 6 + 6 = 12
(d)Amy: 6 + 2 = 8, then 8 × 3 = 24
14.In a test, Amelia answered 18 of the 24 questions correctly. Work out the percentage of the questions she answered correctly.
(a)75%
(b)133%
(c)25%
(d)18%
15.Priya adds 3.6 and 0.45 on paper and writes down 3.65 as her answer. Work out the correct value of 3.6 + 0.45.
(a)3.65
(b)4.05
(c)4.5
(d)0.81
16.Write 0.25 as a percentage.
(a)2.5%
(b)0.25%
(c)250%
(d)25%
17.Work out an estimate for 588 ÷ 31, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
(a)20
(b)19
(c)17
(d)200
18.Work out √25 + 4² − 12 ÷ 3
(a)9
(b)17
(c)3
(d)37
19.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
20.Priya has 24 red beads and 36 blue beads. She makes identical bracelets, using every bead and with none left over. Work out the greatest number of bracelets she can make.
(a)6
(b)72
(c)60
(d)12

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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