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 solution is made by dissolving 50 g of sugar in 200 g of water. Work out the concentration of sugar in the solution as a percentage.
(a)20%
(b)25%
(c)80%
(d)0.2%
2.A spinner has 4 colours and a coin has 2 sides. Work out how many different outcomes are possible when the spinner is spun once and the coin is tossed once.
(a)6
(b)4
(c)8
(d)2
3.A two-way table records whether each of the 30 pupils in a class passed maths and whether they passed science. 18 pupils passed maths, 12 pupils passed science and 8 pupils passed both. Work out how many pupils passed at least one of the two subjects.
(a)22
(b)14
(c)18
(d)30
4.A fruit punch is made from orange juice, pineapple juice and lemonade in the ratio 5:3:2. A jug holds 3.5 litres of punch in total. Work out the volume of pineapple juice needed.
(a)1.75 litres
(b)0.35 litres
(c)1.05 litres
(d)0.7 litres
5.A shape is translated by the vector $(3 - 8)$ , and one vertex of the image is at the point (1, 6). The original shape is instead translated by the vector $(- 5 2)$ . Work out the coordinates of the image of that same vertex under this second translation.
(a)(7, 8)
(b)(11, 3)
(c)(3, 1)
(d)(11, −2)
6.Tom is asked to classify the statement 5(2x − 3) = 10x − 15. Which statement about it is correct?
(a)An equation, since it has an equals sign and unknown x.
(b)An identity, since both sides are equal for every x.
(c)A formula, since it relates two different quantities.
(d)An inequality, since the sides are equal sometimes.
7.Write down the exact value of sin 45°.
(a)√3/2
(b)√2/2
(c)1/2
(d)1
8.A pattern is made from tiles. Pattern 1 has 7 tiles, pattern 2 has 11 tiles, pattern 3 has 15 tiles, and pattern 4 has 19 tiles, with each new pattern having 4 more tiles than the one before it. Work out an expression, in terms of n, for the number of tiles in pattern n.
(a)4n
(b)4n + 7
(c)4n + 3
(d)7n + 4
9.A hiker starts by walking on a bearing of 245°. She turns clockwise through 50°, then turns clockwise through a further 15°, and continues walking in a straight line. What bearing is she now walking on?
(a)320
(b)180
(c)295
(d)310
10.A table shows y = x² − 6x + 5 at these points (x, y): (0, 5), (1, 0), (2, −3), (3, −4), (4, −3), (5, 0), (6, 5). Using the symmetry shown, write down the x-coordinate of the turning point.
y = x² − 6x + 5
(a)x = 1
(b)x = 5
(c)x = 6
(d)x = 3
11.Two mathematically similar oil drums have a length scale factor of 3 from the smaller drum to the larger drum. Work out the volume scale factor from the smaller drum to the larger drum.
(a)9
(b)3
(c)6
(d)27
12.The point C is 6 units to the right of the origin and 0 units up. Write down the coordinates of C.
(a)(6, 0)
(b)(0, 6)
(c)(0, 0)
(d)(7, 0)

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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