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 school orders 187 packed lunches for a trip. Each packed lunch costs £4.85. The school has £900 to spend. By rounding each number to 1 significant figure, work out an estimate for the total cost and decide whether £900 is enough.
(a)£935, so £900 is not enough
(b)£1,000, so £900 is not enough
(c)£800, so £900 is enough
(d)£950, so £900 is not enough
2.Work out an estimate for 113 + 491, by rounding each number to the nearest 100.
(a)700
(b)500
(c)600
(d)604
3.Work out the reciprocal of (2 + 3)
(a)1/5
(b)5/6
(c)5
(d)−1/5
4.Meera says that 0.7 ÷ 0.1 = 0.07. Work out the correct value of 0.7 ÷ 0.1.
(a)7
(b)0.07
(c)70
(d)0.7
5.A ribbon of length 90 cm is cut into two pieces in the ratio 4:5. Work out the length of the shorter piece.
(a)50 cm
(b)10 cm
(c)40 cm
(d)45 cm
6.Jamal invests £600 in a savings account paying 3% simple interest per year. Work out the total amount in the account after 4 years.
(a)£675.31
(b)£72
(c)£672
(d)£618
7.Which statement about the number 91 is correct?
(a)91 is not prime, because 91 = 7 × 13.
(b)91 is prime, because it is not divisible by 2, 3 or 5.
(c)91 is not prime, because it is divisible by 3.
(d)91 is prime, because it is an odd number ending in 1.
8.Write 250 g : 2 kg as a ratio in its simplest form.
(a)1:8
(b)5:40
(c)125:1
(d)8:1
9.Put these three numbers in order of size, starting with the smallest: 3/8, 0.4, 0.35
(a)0.35, 3/8, 0.4
(b)3/8, 0.35, 0.4
(c)0.4, 3/8, 0.35
(d)0.35, 0.4, 3/8
10.Work out an estimate for 6.8 × 41, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
(a)28
(b)240
(c)280
(d)350
11.Work out (−3) × 4 + 2 × (−5)
(a)−22
(b)50
(c)−2
(d)22
12.Which of these ratios is equivalent to 6 : 10 : 14?
(a)8:12:16
(b)3:5:8
(c)9:15:21
(d)12:20:14
13.Write down the reciprocal of 5/8
(a)−8/5
(b)8/5
(c)5/8
(d)3/8
14.A pair of trainers is priced at £80 online. The shop takes 25% off the price and then adds £10 for next-day delivery. Work out the total cost.
(a)£65
(b)£67.50
(c)£60
(d)£70
15.A number, n, is a multiple of both 6 and 9. Work out the smallest possible value of n that is greater than 20.
(a)36
(b)18
(c)54
(d)27
16.A charity raffle sells 240 tickets at £1.85 each. 40% of the money raised is given to a local hospital. Work out how much money the hospital receives.
(a)£177.60
(b)£444.00
(c)£88.80
(d)£266.40
17.Light travels at 2.998 × 10⁸ metres per second. A distant object in space is 3.1 × 10¹⁵ metres from Earth. Work out an estimate for the number of seconds light takes to travel from the object to Earth, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
(a)9 × 10²³ seconds
(b)3 × 10⁷ seconds
(c)1 × 10⁻⁷ seconds
(d)1 × 10⁷ seconds
18.Work out the difference between 45% of 70 and 35% of 80.
(a)11.5
(b)3.5
(c)59.5
(d)10
19.In a class, 1/3 of the pupils are girls. There are 12 girls in the class. Work out how many pupils are in the class.
(a)18
(b)4
(c)24
(d)36
20.2.4 kg of cheese costs £36. Work out the cost of 1.5 kg of the same cheese.
(a)£15
(b)£57.60
(c)£22.50
(d)£54

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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