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 0.325 as a fraction in its simplest form.
(a)13/40
(b)3/8
(c)8/25
(d)13/4
2.The width, the length and the height of a box are in the ratio 3:4:5. The length of the box is 16 cm. Work out the height of the box.
(a)20 cm
(b)80 cm
(c)4 cm
(d)12 cm
3.A café buys 18 boxes of teabags at £3.45 each, and sells all the teabags for £108 in total. Work out the café's profit.
(a)£62.10
(b)£45.90
(c)£46.10
(d)£170.10
4.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
5.Write 1/5 as a percentage.
(a)20%
(b)5%
(c)50%
(d)25%
6.Work out the value of √(16 + 9)
(a)5
(b)12
(c)7
(d)−5
7.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
8.Write 12 as a product of its prime factors.
(a)2² × 3
(b)2 × 3²
(c)2 × 3
(d)2 × 6
9.A florist has 60 red roses and 84 white roses. She wants to make identical bunches using all the flowers, with the greatest possible number of bunches. Work out how many red roses will be in each bunch.
(a)12
(b)7
(c)20
(d)5
10.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
11.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
12.Write the ratio 0.75 : 2 as a ratio of whole numbers in its simplest form.
(a)0.75 : 2
(b)75 : 200
(c)3 : 2
(d)3 : 8
13.Which of these ratios is equivalent to 2:3?
(a)12:8
(b)8:12
(c)4:5
(d)8:3
14.2/3 of an amount of money is £30. Work out the amount.
(a)£15
(b)£45
(c)£20
(d)£90
15.A box holds 80 chocolates. 75% of them are milk chocolates. Work out how many milk chocolates are in the box.
(a)55
(b)75
(c)20
(d)60
16.Write the fraction 47/50 as a decimal.
(a)0.094
(b)4.7
(c)0.94
(d)0.47
17.Work out 50% of 60.
(a)6
(b)3000
(c)120
(d)30
18.Write the mixed number 2 1/4 as an improper fraction.
(a)7/4
(b)9/4
(c)3/4
(d)5/4
19.40% of a number is 12 more than 25% of the same number. Work out the number.
(a)48
(b)80
(c)15
(d)30
20.Work out −7 − (−3).
(a)4
(b)−4
(c)10
(d)−10

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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