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.A recipe for one cake needs 2/3 of a cup of sugar. Priya has 3 1/2 cups of sugar. Work out how many complete cakes she can make.
(a)5.25
(b)5
(c)6
(d)7
2.A shop's profit, P pounds, is in direct proportion to the number of items sold, n. When 15 items are sold, the profit is £45. Write down the ratio n : P in its simplest form for this shop.
(a)1 : 45
(b)3 : 1
(c)1 : 3
(d)15 : 3
3.A red dice and a blue dice are rolled. Both dice are ordinary and fair. Work out the probability of getting a 1 on the red dice and a 2 on the blue dice.
(a)1/18
(b)1/6
(c)1/36
(d)1/3
4.A number is divided by 5, then 6 is subtracted, giving the result −1. Work out the number.
(a)25
(b)−5
(c)1
(d)−35
5.A box holds 60 crayons. 25 of the crayons are broken and the rest are unbroken. Write the number of unbroken crayons as a fraction of the number of broken crayons. Give your answer in its simplest form.
(a)5/7
(b)2/5
(c)7/12
(d)7/5
6.Grace drinks 1/3 of a bottle of water in the morning and another 1/3 of the same bottle in the afternoon. Work out what fraction of the bottle she has drunk altogether.
(a)2/6
(b)2/9
(c)2/3
(d)1/9
7.An allotment is divided into two plots in the ratio 2:3. The larger plot has an area of 18 m². Work out the fraction of the total area taken up by the smaller plot.
(a)2/5
(b)3/5
(c)2/3
(d)1/2
8.The masses of eight school bags, in kilograms, are 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11. Work out the median mass.
(a)5 kg
(b)5.5 kg
(c)8 kg
(d)4 kg
9.Work out the y-intercept of the graph of y = x² + 3x − 10.
y = x² + 3x − 10
(a)(−10, 0)
(b)(0, 3)
(c)(0, 10)
(d)(0, −10)
10.A fair six-sided dice is rolled 120 times. Work out how many of the rolls you would expect to give a score of 3 or more.
(a)80
(b)40
(c)60
(d)20
11.A rectangular garden bed measures 5 m by 3 m. A semicircular flower border is attached along one of the 3 m-wide ends, on the outside of the rectangle, so that the 3 m side is the diameter of the semicircle. Work out the total perimeter of the combined shape (the two long sides, the one remaining short side, and the curved edge). Use π = 3.14.
(a)16 m
(b)22.42 m
(c)17.71 m
(d)20.71 m
12.A map's scale is given as '1 cm represents 2 km'. Write this scale in the form 1 : n.
(a)1:2
(b)1:200000
(c)1:2000
(d)1:20000

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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