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.Write 0.36 as a fraction in its simplest form.
(a)36/10
(b)9/25
(c)9/50
(d)3/10
2.Sam compares 0.6 and 5/8 by comparing the digit 6 with the digit 5, and says that 0.6 is the larger number. Convert 5/8 to a decimal to find the correct larger value.
(a)0.625
(b)0.58
(c)0.85
(d)0.6
3.Work out how many factors 100 has.
(a)8
(b)4
(c)9
(d)10
4.A cinema has 250 seats. 12% of the seats are reserved. Work out how many of the seats are reserved.
(a)3
(b)30
(c)25
(d)24
5.Work out (2/3)² + (1/2)². Give your answer as a fraction.
(a)7/3
(b)49/36
(c)25/36
(d)5/13
6.After a price increase of 10%, a laptop costs £330. Work out the original price.
(a)£3,300
(b)£300
(c)£363
(d)£297
7.The price of a share falls by 10% on Monday and then rises by 10% on Tuesday. Work out the overall percentage change from Monday's starting price.
(a)0%
(b)−1%
(c)−2%
(d)+1%
8.Work out an estimate for 312 × 19, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
(a)6200
(b)5928
(c)6000
(d)600
9.Work out 2 × (−3 + 7)
(a)1
(b)6
(c)−20
(d)8
10.Work out 25% of 200.
(a)50
(b)100
(c)25
(d)800
11.Which of these ratios is equivalent to 2:3?
(a)12:8
(b)8:12
(c)4:5
(d)8:3
12.A company's profit this year is 130% of last year's profit. Last year's profit was £40,000. Work out this year's profit.
(a)£12,000
(b)£52,000
(c)£5,200
(d)£40,130
13.Write 45 minutes : 2 hours as a ratio in its simplest form.
(a)9:24
(b)8:3
(c)45:2
(d)3:8
14.Write the ratio 18:22 in its simplest form.
(a)9:11
(b)9:22
(c)11:9
(d)9:13
15.Write 12 as a product of its prime factors.
(a)2² × 3
(b)2 × 3²
(c)2 × 3
(d)2 × 6
16.Work out 1 − 1/2 − 1/4 − 1/8 − 1/16. Give your answer as a fraction.
(a)1/16
(b)1/8
(c)15/16
(d)3/16
17.Work out 1/2 of 1/4 of 80.
(a)20
(b)10
(c)60
(d)40
18.A tank contains 120 litres of water. Water is drained out at a rate of 8 litres per minute for 6 minutes, and then a hose adds 15 litres. Work out how much water is left in the tank.
(a)121 litres
(b)57 litres
(c)87 litres
(d)72 litres
19.A shop assistant says that 7.2 × 3.9 = 56.16. Work out an estimate for 7.2 × 3.9, by rounding each number to the nearest whole number, to show that the assistant’s answer cannot be correct.
(a)56
(b)21
(c)35
(d)28
20.Work out 15% of £40, using 10% and 5%.
(a)£6
(b)£4
(c)£600
(d)£2

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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