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 goat is tied by a rope 7 m long to a post at a corner of a rectangular field, where two fences meet at a right angle. The goat can reach anywhere inside the field that the rope allows. Using π = 3.14, work out the area the goat can graze, to the nearest square metre.
(a)11 m²
(b)5 m²
(c)154 m²
(d)38 m²
2.A company's profit is £500 in its first year. Each year after that, the profit is £300 more than the year before. Work out the profit in the company's 6th year.
(a)£1700
(b)£1500
(c)£2300
(d)£2000
3.Write the mixed number 2 1/4 as an improper fraction.
(a)7/4
(b)9/4
(c)3/4
(d)5/4
4.y = 5 − 2x. Work out the value of x when y = 11.
(a)8
(b)3
(c)6
(d)−3
5.A cyclist's journey is shown on a distance–time graph. The graph is a straight line from (0 minutes, 0 km) to (40 minutes, 12 km). Work out her speed in kilometres per hour.
(a)8 km/h
(b)16 km/h
(c)18 km/h
(d)30 km/h
6.Two mathematically similar tins have heights 8 cm and 12 cm. Jayden says that the volume of the larger tin is 1.5 times the volume of the smaller tin. Give a reason why Jayden is incorrect, and work out the correct volume scale factor.
(a)3.375
(b)2.25
(c)4.5
(d)1.5
7.A mobile phone tariff is shown on a straight-line graph with the monthly cost, C pounds, on the vertical axis and the amount of data used, g gigabytes, on the horizontal axis. The line passes through (0, 10) and (8, 26). Work out the gradient and say what it represents.
(a)3.25, the cost in pounds of each extra gigabyte
(b)2, the cost in pounds of each extra gigabyte
(c)10, the cost in pounds of each extra gigabyte
(d)2, the fixed monthly charge in pounds
8.A straight line is drawn on a scatter graph to show the trend of the points. Write down the name given to this line.
(a)A line joining the first and last points
(b)A horizontal line through the mean
(c)A line of best fit
(d)A line of symmetry
9.A sequence starts at 2. Each term after that is found using the rule "double the previous term, then add 1". Work out the 4th term of the sequence.
(a)16
(b)23
(c)22
(d)30
10.y is directly proportional to x. When x = 8, y = 20. Work out the value of y when x = 12.
(a)14.5
(b)4.8
(c)30
(d)24
11.A recipe for 4 people needs 300 g of rice. Work out how much rice is needed for 6 people, assuming the amount is in direct proportion to the number of people.
(a)180 g
(b)400 g
(c)200 g
(d)450 g
12.Round 0.006482 to 2 significant figures.
(a)0.01
(b)0.00648
(c)0.0065
(d)0.006

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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