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.The height, h metres, of a ball t seconds after a stopwatch is started follows h = (t − 1)(5 − t) for 1 ≤ t ≤ 5, where h = 0 means the ball is at ground level. Work out the two times at which the ball is at ground level.
(a)t = 1 second and t = 4 seconds
(b)t = 1 second and t = −5 seconds
(c)t = 1 second and t = 5 seconds
(d)t = −1 second and t = 5 seconds
2.A necklace is made using gold beads and silver beads in the ratio 7:3. There are 40 more gold beads than silver beads. Work out the total number of beads in the necklace.
(a)100
(b)40
(c)70
(d)30
3.A school has 1,500 pupils. The head teacher takes a random sample of 150 of them from the school register and asks how long they spend on homework. Rory says the sample is too small for the result to mean anything. Is Rory right? Give a reason for your answer.
(a)No, 150 pupils are a tenth of the school, chosen at random
(b)Yes, 150 pupils cannot be picked at random from 1,500
(c)No, a random sample always gives the exact school figure
(d)Yes, only asking all 1,500 pupils could show anything
4.In a survey of 45 students, 22 said they like reading, 18 said they like gaming, and 6 said they like both. Work out how many students like exactly one of reading or gaming.
(a)6
(b)40
(c)28
(d)34
5.Point B is at (1, 6). It is reflected in the x-axis. Work out the coordinates of the image of point B.
(a)(1, 6)
(b)(−1, 6)
(c)(−1, −6)
(d)(1, −6)
6.A triangular sail for a small boat has a base of 2.4 m and a height of 1.75 m. Sailcloth costs £12.50 per m². Work out the total cost of the sailcloth needed for the sail.
(a)£30.00
(b)£26.25
(c)£25.00
(d)£52.50
7.At midday the temperature in the Lake District was 3 °C. By midnight it had fallen to −6 °C. Work out the fall in temperature.
(a)9 °C
(b)6 °C
(c)3 °C
(d)−9 °C
8.A circle has circumference 31.4 cm. Using π = 3.14, work out the radius of the circle.
(a)2.5 cm
(b)10 cm
(c)5 cm
(d)15.7 cm
9.Work out (6 × 10⁷) + (3 × 10⁶). Give your answer in standard form.
(a)9 × 10¹³
(b)9 × 10⁶
(c)6.3 × 10⁷
(d)9 × 10⁷
10.A treasure map has a scale of 1 cm to 4 m. A path from the start to a rock is drawn as two straight sections, measuring 3 cm and 2.5 cm. Work out the total real distance from the start to the rock, in metres.
(a)44
(b)22
(c)10
(d)5.5
11.Given that (x − 4)(x + 9) = 0, write down the two solutions of x.
(a)x = −4 or x = 9
(b)x = 4 or x = 9
(c)x = −4 or x = −9
(d)x = 4 or x = −9
12.A birthday cake is a cylinder of radius 10 cm and height 8 cm, with a thin ribbon fixed exactly once around the curved side, at half the height, and joined with no overlap. Work out the length of ribbon needed. Use π = 3.14.
(a)62.8 cm
(b)125.6 cm
(c)251.2 cm
(d)31.4 cm

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.

Similar worksheets worth a look

✏️ Paper 1 non-calculator warm-up — Foundation · 20 questions · ~25 min
🧮 Paper 1 non-calculator warm-up — Higher · 20 questions · ~25 min
🎯 Grade 4 pass booster · 25 questions · ~40 min
⚖️ Foundation to Higher crossover check · 20 questions · ~35 min