12 short questions across all six content areas, designed as a lesson starter or a daily warm-up.
⏱️ Ten-minute starters — Foundation
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.Shape S has an area of 48 cm². It is enlarged by a scale factor of 1/4 to give shape T. Work out the area of shape T.
- 2.Each of these has an exact value. Write down the one whose value is the greatest.
- 3.Write the ratio 6a : 9a in its simplest form, where a is a positive number.
- 4.A parallelogram has an area of 54 cm² and a base of 9 cm. Work out its perpendicular height.
- 5.Two similar triangles have lengths in the ratio 5 : 8. A side of the smaller triangle is 6.5 cm. Work out the length of the corresponding side of the larger triangle.
- 6.Which of these describes an obtuse angle?
- 7.A right-angled triangle has its two shorter sides equal to 8 cm and 15 cm. Work out the value of cos θ, where θ is the angle opposite the 8 cm side. Give your answer as a fraction.
- 8.Round 6.283 to 1 significant figure.
- 9.Work out the coordinates of the point where the graph of y = 2x − 6 crosses the x-axis.y = 2x − 6
- 10.The width, the length and the height of a box are in the ratio 3:4:5. The length of the box is 16 cm. Work out the height of the box.
- 11.Work out the lowest common multiple of 9 and 15.
- 12.Work out the length of the straight line segment joining the points (2, −4) and (−3, −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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