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.Work out the reciprocal of (2 + 3)
(a)1/5
(b)5/6
(c)5
(d)−1/5
2.Work out 2/5 of 45.
(a)36
(b)27
(c)18
(d)9
3.Write the ratio 4x : 6x in its simplest form, where x is a positive number.
(a)2x:3x
(b)4:6
(c)2:3
(d)3:2
4.Work out 8% of £250.
(a)£25
(b)£2
(c)£200
(d)£20
5.Work out how many factors 36 has.
(a)5
(b)10
(c)8
(d)9
6.Write 0.35 as a fraction in its lowest terms.
(a)7/25
(b)35/10
(c)3/10
(d)7/20
7.Work out an estimate for 37 × 84, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
(a)3200
(b)2400
(c)120
(d)3108
8.Write the fraction 9/25 as a decimal.
(a)0.9
(b)2.8
(c)0.36
(d)0.925
9.Write 0.325 as a fraction in its simplest form.
(a)13/40
(b)3/8
(c)8/25
(d)13/4
10.Write the ratio 27 : 45 in its simplest form.
(a)27 : 45
(b)3 : 5
(c)5 : 3
(d)9 : 15
11.Write 250 g : 2 kg as a ratio in its simplest form.
(a)1:8
(b)5:40
(c)125:1
(d)8:1
12.Work out an estimate for 397 ÷ 21, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
(a)20
(b)200
(c)19
(d)2
13.Oliver drives 95 km at an average speed of 50 km/h. Work out an estimate for the time the journey takes, by rounding the distance to the nearest 100 km.
(a)1 hour 54 minutes
(b)30 minutes
(c)1 hour
(d)2 hours
14.A carton of orange juice holds 1.35 litres. Ruby pours the juice equally into 4 identical glasses. Work out how much juice is in each glass, giving your answer as a fraction of a litre in its simplest form.
(a)27/20
(b)17/50
(c)27/5
(d)27/80
15.The price of a games console is reduced by 10%. In a later sale the reduced price is reduced by 10% again. Work out the overall percentage decrease.
(a)21%
(b)81%
(c)20%
(d)19%
16.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
17.Work out 250 ÷ 1000.
(a)25
(b)0.025
(c)2.5
(d)0.25
18.A car is bought for £17,500. Its value decreases by 12% in the first year, and by a further 10% of its reduced value in the second year. Work out the value of the car at the end of the second year, giving your answer to the nearest pound.
(a)£15,400
(b)£13,860
(c)£13,650
(d)£15,750
19.Work out 18 − 4 × 2
(a)12
(b)−10
(c)10
(d)28
20.A roll of ribbon is 8.4 m long. Ribbon is cut into pieces that are each 0.6 m long. Work out how many complete pieces can be cut from the roll.
(a)14
(b)12
(c)140
(d)1

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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