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 circular decoration has a radius of 10 cm. A ribbon costs £0.50 per centimetre and is fixed along the curved edge (the arc) of a sector-shaped section with an angle of 90°. Using π = 3.14, work out the cost of the ribbon for this section.
(a)£157.00
(b)£31.40
(c)£7.85
(d)£15.70
2.£60 is shared between Amir, Bo and Chen in the ratio 1:2:3. Work out the fraction of the £60 that Amir and Bo receive together.
(a)1/2
(b)1/6
(c)5/6
(d)1
3.A cuboid-shaped shipping crate has a length of 12 m, a width of 5 m, and a volume of 360 m³. Work out the height of the crate, in metres.
(a)30 m
(b)6 m
(c)300 m
(d)72 m
4.A jug of squash is made by mixing water and syrup in the ratio 6:1. Nia wants to make 8.4 litres of squash. Work out how much syrup she needs, in litres.
(a)0.84
(b)1.4
(c)1.2
(d)7.2
5.A shape is translated by the vector $(4 - 3)$ . The point P(6, 1) lies on the shape. Write down the coordinates of the image of P.
(a)(3, −3)
(b)(3, 5)
(c)(9, −3)
(d)(10, −2)
6.A running track has a straight section and a semicircular bend. The bend is a semicircle with radius 32 m. Work out the length of the curved part of the bend, to 1 decimal place. (Use π = 3.14.)
(a)201.0 m
(b)64.0 m
(c)100.5 m
(d)50.2 m
7.Write down the expression that means the same as 'subtract 5 from n, then divide the result by 2'.
(a)(n − 5)/2
(b)n/2 − 5
(c)2(n − 5)
(d)(5 − n)/2
8.The perimeter of a square is 20 cm. Work out the area of the square.
(a)5 cm
(b)25 cm²
(c)100 cm²
(d)400 cm²
9.A vertical line passes through the point (4, 7). Write down the equation of this line.
(a)y = 7
(b)x = 4
(c)x = 7
(d)y = 4x
10.A bag of potatoes has a mass of 3 kg. A bag of carrots has a mass of 5 kg. Write the mass of the potatoes as a fraction of the mass of the carrots.
(a)3/5
(b)5/3
(c)2/5
(d)3/8
11.A graph shows y plotted against x. The graph is a curve that gets closer to both axes but never touches them, and y decreases as x increases. Write down whether this graph could show direct proportion, inverse proportion, or neither.
(a)Inverse proportion
(b)Neither, because the graph does not pass through the origin
(c)Neither, because a curve cannot show a proportional relationship
(d)Direct proportion
12.A student draws a net using 5 identical squares arranged in a row of four with one extra square attached to the side of one of them. Can this net be folded to make a closed cube?
(a)Yes, it folds into a cube
(b)No, it needs one more square
(c)No, it has one square too many
(d)Yes, but only if two squares overlap

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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