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.A recipe for pastry uses flour and butter in the ratio 3:2. A baker has 180 g of butter and wants to make pastry using all of it. Work out the total mass of pastry the baker can make.
- 2.An amount of money is shared in the ratio 1:2:3. The largest share is £90 more than the smallest share. Work out the total amount that was shared.
- 3.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.
- 4.Two quantities x and y are in direct proportion. When x = 8, the value of y is 20. Work out the value of y when x = 14.
- 5.A 1.5 kg bag of pasta costs £2.85 and a 2.4 kg bag of the same pasta costs £4.32. Work out which bag gives better value for money.
- 6.The manufacturing cost of a specialist lens, in pounds, is proportional to the square root of its diameter, in millimetres. A lens of diameter 9 mm costs £12 to manufacture. Construct the equation connecting cost C and diameter d, then work out the cost of manufacturing a lens of diameter 16 mm.
- 7.The number of euros, e, received is directly proportional to the number of pounds, p, exchanged. Exchanging £40 gives 46 euros. Work out how many euros are received for £65, giving your answer to the nearest euro.
- 8.2.4 kg of cheese costs £36. Work out the cost of 1.5 kg of the same cheese.
- 9.y is inversely proportional to x, so y = k ÷ x. When x = 5, the value of y is 8. Work out the value of k.
- 10.A factory machine produces bottles at a constant rate. In 45 minutes it produces 810 bottles. The factory needs 2,160 bottles for an order. Working at the same rate, work out how many minutes it will take to produce the order.
- 11.It takes 2 identical pumps 10 hours to empty a flooded basement. Working at the same rate, work out how many hours 5 of these pumps would take to empty the same basement.
- 12.Write 2 m : 150 cm : 50 cm as a ratio of whole numbers in its simplest form.
- 13.A fixed job of fitting a solar array is shared between installers, and the time taken is inversely proportional to the number of installers working on it at once. With 4 installers the job takes 18 hours. Construct the equation connecting time T and number of installers n, then work out how long it would take with 6 installers.
- 14.Work out the value of x when 4/x = 2/5.
- 15.A metal cylinder has a mass of 356.5 g and a volume of 47 cm³. Work out the density of the cylinder, in g/cm³, to 1 decimal place.
- 16.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.
- 17.y is directly proportional to x. When x = 4, y = 10. Work out the value of y when x = 6.
- 18.Write 400 g : 1.5 kg as a ratio in its simplest form.
- 19.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.
- 20.A recipe uses flour, sugar and butter in the ratio 8 : 3 : 5. Write the ratio of flour to the rest of the mixture (sugar and butter combined) in its simplest form.
- 21.A mortar mix is made from sand and cement in the ratio 5 : 3. Write the ratio of sand to the total mix in its simplest form.
- 22.y is directly proportional to √x. When x = 25, y = 20. Construct the equation connecting x and y, then work out the value of x when y = 32.
- 23.Ffion is paid £11.20 per hour. She works 6 hours on Monday and 4.5 hours on Tuesday. Work out her total pay for the two days.
- 24.A statue exerts a downward force of 68.4 N on its base, which has an area of 2.85 m². Work out the pressure that the statue exerts on its base, in N/m².
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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