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.There are 10,000 pupils in a city. A researcher picks a sample of 500 of them by drawing names at random from a list of every pupil in the city. Give the reason why this method gives a representative sample.
(a)Because the pupils most willing to help are chosen
(b)Because the sample must be exactly 5% of the population
(c)Because every pupil has an equal chance of being picked
(d)Because 500 is large enough however they are chosen
2.A tap fills a 20 litre bucket in 2 minutes 30 seconds. Work out the rate of flow, in litres per minute.
(a)8 litres per minute
(b)0.125 litres per minute
(c)8.7 litres per minute
(d)10 litres per minute
3.A sports shop in Cardiff sold 40 pairs of football boots last month: 4 pairs of size 6, 5 pairs of size 7, 8 pairs of size 8, 13 pairs of size 9 and 10 pairs of size 10. The manager will order 40 pairs for next month and wants as many pairs as possible to be in a size customers will buy. Work out the mean size and the modal size, and write down which of the two he should use.
(a)The modal size, 9, bought by more customers than any other
(b)The range of the sizes, 4, which covers every size sold
(c)The mean size, 8, the average of the five sizes on sale
(d)The mean size, 8.5, which takes account of all 40 pairs
4.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.
(a)3
(b)1.6
(c)13
(d)40
5.A quadrilateral has two pairs of parallel sides. All four of its interior angles are right angles, but its sides are not all the same length. Which quadrilateral is this?
(a)Rhombus
(b)Square
(c)Rectangle
(d)Kite
6.A circle has a radius of 5 cm. Work out the exact circumference of the circle, in terms of π.
(a)10π cm
(b)25π cm
(c)5π cm
(d)20π cm
7.A translation is described by the column vector $(- 2 7)$ . Write down a description of this translation in words, stating the horizontal and vertical movement.
(a)7 units left and 2 units up
(b)7 units right and 2 units down
(c)7 units right and 2 units up
(d)2 units right and 7 units down
8.At a summer fair, the probability of winning at the hoopla stall is 6/10 and the probability of winning at the coconut shy is 2/10. Work out how many times as likely a player is to win at the hoopla stall as at the coconut shy.
(a)4 times as likely
(b)3 times as likely
(c)12 times as likely
(d)6 times as likely
9.A company makes 50,000 light bulbs a day and wants to check how long they last before they fail. Testing a bulb to find out how long it lasts destroys it. Give a reason why the company should test a sample of bulbs rather than every bulb it makes.
(a)A sample is always more accurate than a census.
(b)It is against the law to test every bulb made.
(c)Testing every bulb uses too much electricity.
(d)Testing destroys bulbs, so testing all leaves none to sell.
10.Oliver drives 95 km at an average speed of 50 km/h. Work out an estimate for the time the journey takes, by rounding the distance to the nearest 100 km.
(a)1 hour 54 minutes
(b)30 minutes
(c)1 hour
(d)2 hours
11.Work out the value of 2⁻²
(a)4
(b)−4
(c)1/4
(d)−1/4
12.Work out the values of x and y that satisfy both x + y = 10 and x − y = 4.
(a)x = 14, y = −4
(b)x = 7, y = 3
(c)x = 5, y = 5
(d)x = 7, y = 4

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.

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