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 rectangular tile measures 4.5 cm by 6 cm. Work out the area of the tile.
(a)10.5 cm²
(b)21 cm²
(c)27 cm²
(d)30 cm²
2.A cylinder has a radius of 5 cm. Its volume is 471 cm³. Using π = 3.14, work out the height of the cylinder.
(a)150 cm
(b)24 cm
(c)30 cm
(d)6 cm
3.A Fibonacci-type sequence begins 3, 5, 8, 13, ... where each term after the second is the sum of the two terms before it. Work out the 7th term of the sequence.
(a)34
(b)68
(c)55
(d)47
4.A scatter graph shows the number of guests, x, at a wedding and the length of buffet table needed, y metres. The line of best fit is y = 0.5x + 2. Write down what the 2 in this equation tells you about the buffet table.
y = 0.5x + 2
(a)At least 2 guests are needed before set-up
(b)At 0 guests, the model predicts 2 m of table
(c)The table is always 2 m, whatever the guests
(d)Each extra guest adds 2 m of table needed
5.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.
(a)0%
(b)−1%
(c)−2%
(d)+1%
6.Which of these ratios is already written in its simplest form?
(a)7:14
(b)4:9
(c)10:15
(d)6:8
7.A garden path is measured by Jon as 12 m, correct to the nearest metre, and by Mia as 12.6 m, correct to the nearest 0.1 m. Which statement about the two measurements is correct?
(a)They cannot both be describing the same path
(b)Jon's measurement must be wrong
(c)Mia's measurement must be wrong
(d)They must both be describing the same path
8.A cube has all of its edges the same length. How many planes of symmetry does it have?
(a)9
(b)6
(c)12
(d)3
9.An acid solution has a concentration of 20%. The solution contains 40 g of acid, and the rest of the solution is water. Work out the mass of water in the solution.
(a)160 g
(b)10 g
(c)200 g
(d)8 g
10.A game has two independent stages. P(win stage 1) = 0.4, and P(win stage 2) = 0.25. Work out the probability that Ffion wins at least one of the two stages.
(a)0.1
(b)0.55
(c)0.45
(d)0.65
11.A geometric sequence has first term 5, and each term after that is 3 times the term before it. Work out the first term of the sequence that is greater than 1000.
(a)405
(b)1215
(c)2187
(d)3645
12.A box holds n pencils. A shop has 6 full boxes and 4 loose pencils. All of these pencils are shared equally between 2 classes. Write down the expression for the number of pencils each class receives.
(a)2(6n + 4)
(b)6(n + 4)/2
(c)(6n + 4)/2
(d)6n + 4/2

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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