24 questions across ratio, direct and inverse proportion, compound measures and area and volume scale factors.
⚗️ Ratio and proportion mastery — Higher
Ratio, proportion and rates of change is 20% of a Higher paper and it is the area that rewards method over recall. This sheet works through it in one sitting: simplifying and sharing in a ratio, including the questions that give you one share or the difference rather than the total; expressing one quantity as a fraction or percentage of another; direct and inverse proportion, both numerically and as an equation with a constant k; compound measures — speed, density and pressure — with unit conversions built in rather than avoided; and the similar-shapes work where lengths, areas and volumes scale by the factor, its square and its cube. That last group is where Higher candidates lose the most marks in this area, so it is deliberately over-represented here.
- 1.y is directly proportional to x². When x = 3, y = 45. Construct the equation connecting x and y, then work out the value of y when x = 5.
- 2.A car uses fuel at a constant rate. It uses 24 litres of fuel to travel 300 km. Assuming the same rate, work out how many litres of fuel are needed for a journey of 175 km.
- 3.Write the ratio 2 : 1/4 as a ratio of whole numbers in its simplest form.
- 4.Two mathematically similar hexagonal tiles have areas 18 cm² and 50 cm². Work out the ratio of the side length of the smaller tile to the side length of the larger tile, in simplest form.
- 5.There are 400 students at a school. 25% of them have a brother, 40% have a sister and 15% have both a brother and a sister. Work out how many of the students have neither a brother nor a sister.
- 6.Write 250 g : 2 kg as a ratio in its simplest form.
- 7.y is inversely proportional to x. When x = 5, y = 8. Work out the value of y when x = 10.
- 8.Two cars travel at constant speeds. Car A travels 150 km in 3 hours. Car B travels 180 km in 4 hours. Which car is faster, and what is its speed?
- 9.Write the ratio 0.75 : 2 as a ratio of whole numbers in its simplest form.
- 10.Two quantities x and y are inversely proportional. When x = 2, the value of y is 15. Work out the value of y when x = 5.
- 11.The exchange rate is £1 = 1.28 US dollars. Convert £350 into US dollars.
- 12.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.
- 13.Write £3.60 : £2.40 as a ratio in its simplest form.
- 14.A charity collects donations from adults and children in the ratio 5:2. Altogether, £238 is collected. Work out how much more the adults donate than the children.
- 15.The time taken for a train journey is inversely proportional to the average speed of the train. At an average speed of 60 km/h the journey takes 2 hours. Work out the time taken at an average speed of 40 km/h.
- 16.A cyclist travels 18 km in 45 minutes. Work out the average speed, in km/h.
- 17.A textbook is reduced from £60 to £45. Work out the percentage reduction.
- 18.y is directly proportional to x. When x = 5, y = 18. Work out the value of y when x = 15.
- 19.A garden centre sells two mathematically similar sacks of grass seed. The amount of lawn a sack can treat is proportional to the volume of seed inside it. The smaller sack is 20 cm tall and treats a lawn of area 30 m². The larger sack is 40 cm tall. A gardener needs to treat a lawn with an area of 500 m² using only the larger sacks. Work out the minimum number of larger sacks needed.
- 20.Write the ratio 3/4 : 1/2 as a ratio of whole numbers in its simplest form.
- 21.6 identical printers can print a batch of exam papers in 40 minutes, all working at the same rate. Working at the same rate, work out how many minutes 4 of these printers would take to print the same batch.
- 22.It takes 8 painters 6 days to paint a fence. Working at the same rate, work out how many days 4 painters would take to paint the same fence.
- 23.For the pairs x = 6, y = 15 and x = 10, y = 25, which statement is correct?
- 24.A sculptor makes two mathematically similar statues. The smaller statue is 20 cm tall and 80 ml of varnish covers its surface. The larger statue is 50 cm tall. Work out how much varnish is needed to cover the surface of the larger statue.
What is on this worksheet?
The sheet holds 24 questions drawn from the MathsUK bank — the content area covered: Ratio, proportion and rates of change (statements R4, R5, R9, R10, R11, R12, R13). It is pitched at GCSE Higher and takes about 45 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 24 questions before checking — about 45 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 24 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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