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 shop sells rope by the metre. 3 m costs £7.50 and 5 m costs £11.00. Does this data show that the cost is directly proportional to the length of rope bought? Choose the correct verdict and reason.
- 2.A printer prints at a constant rate. The time taken to print a batch of forms is inversely proportional to the printer's speed, in pages per minute. Printing at 20 pages per minute takes 15 minutes. Work out how long the same batch takes to print at 25 pages per minute. Give your answer in minutes.
- 3.A spring's extension is directly proportional to the force applied to it. A force of 5 N produces an extension of 12 mm. Work out the extension produced by a force of 20 N.
- 4.A concrete block exerts a force of 45 N on the ground through a base with an area of 0.05 m². Work out the pressure on the ground, in N/m².
- 5.Two mathematically similar garden ponds have surface areas of 12 m² and 27 m². The fencing needed to go around the smaller pond costs £96. Assuming the cost of fencing is proportional to the perimeter of the pond, work out the cost of fencing the larger pond.
- 6.y is directly proportional to x. When x = 4, y = 10. Work out the value of y when x = 6.
- 7.A textbook is reduced from £60 to £45. Work out the percentage reduction.
- 8.Two mathematically similar circles have radii 4 cm and 20 cm. Write the ratio of the area of the smaller circle to the area of the larger circle in its simplest form.
- 9.Write the ratio 5 : 8 in the form 1 : n.
- 10.The cost of manufacturing a spherical container is proportional to the cube of its radius. A container of radius 3 cm costs £54 to manufacture. Construct the equation connecting cost C and radius r, then work out the cost of a container of radius 5 cm.
- 11.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.
- 12.Write 400 g : 1.5 kg as a ratio in its simplest form.
- 13.A toy manufacturer makes a model aircraft that is mathematically similar to the real aircraft, at a scale of 1 : 48. The wingspan of the model is 15 cm. Work out the wingspan of the real aircraft, giving your answer in metres.
- 14.The number of members of a running club increases from 45 to 54. Work out the percentage increase.
- 15.A cyclist rides 19.3 km in 47 minutes. Work out her average speed, in km/h, to 1 decimal place.
- 16.Priya invests £750 in a savings account that pays simple interest. After 3 years, the account contains £840. Work out the annual rate of simple interest.
- 17.Two mathematically similar polygons have perimeters in the ratio 2 : 5. Write the ratio of their areas in its simplest form.
- 18.Write 250 g : 2 kg as a ratio in its simplest form.
- 19.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.
- 20.3 builders put up a fence in 12 days. All the builders work at the same rate, so the number of days is inversely proportional to the number of builders. Work out how long 9 builders take to put up the same fence.
- 21.y is inversely proportional to x², and x is positive. When x = 2, y = 45. Construct the equation connecting x and y, then work out the value of x when y = 5.
- 22.A coach travels the 54 miles from London to Brighton in 1 hour 30 minutes. Work out the average speed of the coach, in mph.
- 23.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.
- 24.The price of a cycling helmet rises from £80 to £116. Work out the percentage increase.
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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