22 questions on percentage change, reverse percentages, simple and compound interest, and depreciation.

💷 Percentages and compound interest

Maths · GCSE Foundation · 22 questions · ~40 min

MathsUKwww.geekhero.co.uk

Percentages appear on all three papers and in more contexts than any other single topic — prices, wages, interest, VAT, population, depreciation. This sheet covers the whole of it in order. It begins with percentage of an amount and percentage change, including finding the percentage rather than applying it; moves to multipliers, which make everything after this easier; then to reverse percentages, where you are given the value after the change and asked for the original, and where subtracting instead of dividing is the commonest error in the topic; then to simple interest, compound interest and depreciation, where the multiplier is raised to a power rather than multiplied by the number of years. The last few questions mix the types without labelling them, because on the paper they are not labelled either.

1.Work out 2/5 of 45.
(a)36
(b)27
(c)18
(d)9
2.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
3.40% of a number is 12 more than 25% of the same number. Work out the number.
(a)48
(b)80
(c)15
(d)30
4.A sponsored walk is 36 km long. Aisha has completed 8/12 of the walk. Work out how far she has walked.
(a)288 km
(b)4.5 km
(c)12 km
(d)24 km
5.A sponsored walk raised £350 for charity. 20% of the money raised is spent on equipment. Work out how much is spent on equipment.
(a)£35
(b)£280
(c)£70
(d)£17.50
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.A savings account pays 3.5% compound interest each year. Bilal invests £1200. Work out how much interest, in total, he earns after 2 years, to the nearest penny.
(a)£85.47
(b)£1285.47
(c)£84.00
(d)£42.00
8.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%
9.A water tank holds 80 litres when full. It currently contains 60 litres. Work out what fraction of the tank is empty.
(a)1/4
(b)1/3
(c)3/4
(d)1/5
10.A jumper costs £45 at Shop A, where it is reduced by 20%. The same jumper costs £34 at Shop B, where a further 10% reduction is then applied. Work out the difference between the two reduced prices.
(a)£11.00
(b)£66.60
(c)£1.60
(d)£5.40
11.Aisha invests £3200 in Account A, which pays 5% compound interest each year. She also invests £3200 in Account B, which pays 3% simple interest each year. Work out how much more Account A is worth than Account B after 2 years.
(a)£3528
(b)£3392
(c)£136
(d)£128
12.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
13.£3000 is invested in a savings account that pays 4% compound interest each year. Work out the value of the investment after 2 years.
(a)£3244.80
(b)£3120.00
(c)£244.80
(d)£3240.00
14.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
15.Write 3/4 as a percentage.
(a)133%
(b)34%
(c)0.75%
(d)75%
16.The number of members of a running club increases from 45 to 54. Work out the percentage increase.
(a)9%
(b)120%
(c)20%
(d)16.7%
17.Work out the difference between 45% of 70 and 35% of 80.
(a)11.5
(b)3.5
(c)59.5
(d)10
18.Work out 15% of £40, using 10% and 5%.
(a)£6
(b)£4
(c)£600
(d)£2
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.The population of a village is 1200. It is predicted to grow by 5% next year. Work out the predicted population after 1 year, to the nearest whole number.
(a)1260
(b)1800
(c)1205
(d)60
21.A charity shop buys a coat for £24 and sells it for a profit that is 3/8 of the buying price. Work out the selling price.
(a)£27.00
(b)£15.00
(c)£9.00
(d)£33.00
22.A gym increases its membership price by 1/5. The original price is £60. Work out the new price.
(a)£48
(b)£72
(c)£75
(d)£12

What is on this worksheet?

The sheet holds 22 questions drawn from the MathsUK bank — the content areas covered: Ratio, proportion and rates of change, Number (statements R9, R16, N12). It is pitched at GCSE Foundation and takes about 40 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 22 questions before checking — about 40 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 22 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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