12 short questions across all six content areas, designed as a lesson starter or a daily warm-up.

⏱️ Ten-minute starters — Foundation

Maths · GCSE Foundation · 12 questions · ~10 min

MathsUKwww.geekhero.co.uk

Twelve short questions, two from each of the six content areas: number, algebra, ratio, geometry, probability and statistics. Nothing here needs more than a minute, and nothing needs a calculator. It is built as a lesson starter — print it, hand it out, take ten minutes, mark it together — and it works just as well as a daily warm-up at home in the fortnight before a mock. The value is in the spread rather than the depth: a student who has spent a week on algebra can find out in ten minutes what a week away from statistics has cost. Generate a new sheet whenever you want a fresh twelve on the same pattern.

1.On a scatter graph the horizontal axis shows height in centimetres and the vertical axis shows mass in kilograms. One point is plotted at (170, 65). Write down the height and the mass of that person.
(a)Height 65 cm, mass 170 kg
(b)Height 170 cm, mass 170 kg
(c)Height 170 cm, mass 65 kg
(d)Height 235 cm, mass 105 kg
2.A two-way table records 200 members of a gym. 80 of the members are women and the rest are men. 60 of the women attend yoga classes. Work out the percentage of the women who attend yoga classes.
(a)75%
(b)30%
(c)25%
(d)50%
3.A vertical flagpole casts a shadow 6 m long at the same time as a 1.2 m vertical post casts a shadow 1.8 m long. The flagpole and the post are both vertical, and the triangles formed by each object, its shadow, and the sun's ray are similar. Work out the height of the flagpole.
(a)5.4 m
(b)4 m
(c)9 m
(d)7.2 m
4.Work out the coordinates of the point halfway between (−9, −2) and (−1, −2).
(a)(−10, −2)
(b)(−5, −2)
(c)(−4, −2)
(d)(5, −2)
5.A survey of 60 readers records: 21 read only fiction, 17 read only non-fiction, 14 read both, and the rest read neither. Work out the probability that a randomly chosen reader reads exactly one of the two types, giving your answer as a fraction in its simplest form.
(a)13/15
(b)19/26
(c)7/30
(d)19/30
6.Work out the median of these five numbers: 2, 4, 7, 12, 26
(a)24
(b)14
(c)7
(d)10.2
7.A solid has 10 vertices and 15 edges. Using the formula F + V − E = 2, work out how many faces it has.
(a)7
(b)3
(c)5
(d)27
8.Work out 3 + 4 × (−2).
(a)−8
(b)−5
(c)−14
(d)11
9.A cylindrical drum and a cuboid box are being wrapped for a display. A shop assistant wraps only the flat faces of each item, not any curved surface. How many flat faces in total does the assistant wrap across both items?
(a)8
(b)9
(c)3
(d)6
10.A circular plate has a diameter of 20 cm. Work out the area of the plate. Use π = 3.14.
(a)314 cm²
(b)1256 cm²
(c)62.8 cm²
(d)628 cm²
11.A circular decoration has a radius of 10 cm. A ribbon costs £0.50 per centimetre and is fixed along the curved edge (the arc) of a sector-shaped section with an angle of 90°. Using π = 3.14, work out the cost of the ribbon for this section.
(a)£157.00
(b)£31.40
(c)£7.85
(d)£15.70
12.A recipe uses 1.25 kg of flour. Work out how many grams of flour this is.
(a)125 g
(b)1025 g
(c)1000 g
(d)1250 g

What is on this worksheet?

The sheet holds 12 questions drawn from the MathsUK bank — the content areas covered: Number, Algebra, Ratio, proportion and rates of change, Geometry and measures, Probability, Statistics. It is pitched at GCSE Foundation and takes about 10 minutes to work through in full. It works as a class handout, a homework, or a warm-up before a test.

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 12 questions before checking — about 10 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 12 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 — Foundation · 20 questions · ~25 min
🧮 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