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 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
2.A shop's takings were £4500 in May. In June the takings fell by £900. Write the June takings as a fraction of the May takings, in its simplest form.
(a)4/5
(b)1/5
(c)5/4
(d)4/9
3.A charity raffle sells 240 tickets at £1.85 each. 40% of the money raised is given to a local hospital. Work out how much money the hospital receives.
(a)£177.60
(b)£444.00
(c)£88.80
(d)£266.40
4.A tile is described as having two pairs of parallel sides, four equal sides, and diagonals that cross at right angles but are not equal in length. Give a reason why this tile cannot be a square.
(a)A square's diagonals are equal in length
(b)A square has only one pair of parallel sides
(c)A square's diagonals do not cross at right angles
(d)A square's sides are not all equal in length
5.An isosceles triangle ABC has AB equal to AC. AM is a line from vertex A, perpendicular to BC, meeting BC at point M. Which condition proves that triangle ABM is congruent to triangle ACM?
(a)SAS, right angle as included angle
(b)ASA, AB as the included side
(c)SSS, using BM = CM as a fact
(d)RHS, using AM as common side
6.Here are the first four terms of an arithmetic sequence: 5, 9, 13, 17. Work out the 5th term.
(a)22
(b)21
(c)25
(d)20
7.The number of biscuits, b, that each guest at a party receives is inversely proportional to the number of guests, g. Which equation could show this relationship?
(a)b = g ÷ k
(b)b = k + g
(c)b = kg
(d)b = k ÷ g
8.In a vertical line chart of test results, the tallest line stands for 40 pupils. The same results are to be shown in a pie chart of all 100 pupils. Work out the angle at the centre of the sector that will stand for those 40 pupils.
(a)144°
(b)216°
(c)180°
(d)40°
9.A class has 28 pupils. 16 of the pupils are girls and the rest are boys. Write the ratio of girls to boys in its simplest form.
(a)4:7
(b)3:4
(c)8:6
(d)4:3
10.A triangular bunting flag has two equal sides. The angle between those two equal sides is 80°, and the other two angles of the flag are equal to each other. Work out the size of each of the two equal angles.
(a)40°
(b)50°
(c)80°
(d)100°
11.A square has sides of length 7 cm. Work out its area.
(a)49 cm²
(b)21 cm²
(c)28 cm²
(d)14 cm²
12.A jug holds 750 ml of water. Work out what fraction of a litre this is.
(a)3/4
(b)1/4
(c)4/3
(d)3/10

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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