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 jug holds 3 litres of a drink that is 60% fruit juice. 1 litre of water is added to the jug. Work out the percentage of the new mixture that is fruit juice.
(a)60%
(b)75%
(c)45%
(d)15%
2.Work out the value of √(16 + 9)
(a)5
(b)12
(c)7
(d)−5
3.Work out √144 − 2 × 3 + √25
(a)35
(b)11
(c)1
(d)7
4.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
5.Work out 3/8 of 96.
(a)72
(b)12
(c)32
(d)36
6.In a school choir the ratio of boys to girls is 3:4. When 6 more boys join the choir, the ratio of boys to girls becomes 1:1. Work out how many girls are in the choir.
(a)18
(b)24
(c)42
(d)30
7.Grace works out 7 × 99 by writing 99 as 100 − 1. Use her method to work out 7 × 99.
(a)707
(b)700
(c)693
(d)699
8.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
9.Three business partners share a profit of £48,000 in the ratio 3:5:4. Work out how much the partner with 5 parts receives.
(a)£20,000
(b)£12,000
(c)£4,000
(d)£16,000
10.Grace drinks 1/3 of a bottle of water in the morning and another 1/3 of the same bottle in the afternoon. Work out what fraction of the bottle she has drunk altogether.
(a)2/6
(b)2/9
(c)2/3
(d)1/9
11.3/5 of the students in a year group walk to school. 90 students walk to school. Work out the total number of students in the year group.
(a)54
(b)126
(c)150
(d)30
12.Freya uses her calculator to work out 7² and writes down 14. Work out the correct value of 7².
(a)49
(b)14
(c)9
(d)77
13.Which of these numbers is a common factor of 18 and 24?
(a)6
(b)8
(c)12
(d)9
14.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
15.A textbook is reduced from £60 to £45. Work out the percentage reduction.
(a)33%
(b)15%
(c)75%
(d)25%
16.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
17.A cycle route is 350 m long. A footpath runs alongside it for 3/7 of that length. Work out the length of the footpath.
(a)200 m
(b)1050 m
(c)150 m
(d)50 m
18.Grace buys three items costing £9.95, £19.90 and £4.99. Work out an estimate for the total cost, by rounding each price to the nearest pound.
(a)£34.84
(b)£35
(c)£32
(d)£40
19.A recipe uses 160 g of flour. Sam wants to increase the amount by 1/4. Work out the new amount of flour.
(a)200 g
(b)128 g
(c)240 g
(d)40 g
20.Simplify the ratio 45 : 30 : 75 to its simplest form.
(a)2 : 3 : 5
(b)15 : 10 : 25
(c)9 : 6 : 15
(d)3 : 2 : 5

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.

Similar worksheets worth a look

🧮 Paper 1 non-calculator warm-up — Higher · 20 questions · ~25 min
🎯 Grade 4 pass booster · 25 questions · ~40 min
⚖️ Foundation to Higher crossover check · 20 questions · ~35 min
💷 Percentages and compound interest · 22 questions · ~40 min