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.Work out the difference between 45% of 70 and 35% of 80.
(a)11.5
(b)3.5
(c)59.5
(d)10
2.A factory made 3,000 phone cases last week. Shift A checked a random sample of 100 cases and found that 34 were scratched. Shift B checked a different random sample of 50 cases and found that 21 were scratched. Using the COMBINED results from both shifts, work out an estimate for the number of scratched cases made last week.
(a)1140
(b)1020
(c)1260
(d)1100
3.A factory checked 400 items. A frequency tree splits them into 250 items made by machine A and 150 items made by machine B. On machine A's branch, 15 of the items were faulty. On machine B's branch, 5 of the items were faulty. One of the 400 items is picked at random. Work out the probability that it is faulty. Give your answer as a fraction in its simplest form.
(a)3/50
(b)1/30
(c)19/20
(d)1/20
4.A bag holds 50 counters. 2/5 of them are red and the rest are blue. 5 red counters are then taken out of the bag. Work out the new ratio of red counters to blue counters. Give your answer in its simplest form.
(a)2 : 3
(b)1 : 2
(c)4 : 5
(d)2 : 1
5.On one night in Manchester the temperature at 3 am was 8 °C below zero and at 9 am it was 3 °C below zero. Write down the warmer of the two readings.
(a)−3 °C
(b)3 °C
(c)5 °C
(d)−8 °C
6.A number, x, is truncated (not rounded) to 1 decimal place and the result is 6.2. Write down the error interval for x.
(a)6.1 < x ≤ 6.2
(b)6.2 ≤ x < 6.3
(c)6.2 ≤ x ≤ 6.3
(d)6.15 ≤ x < 6.25
7.The triangular numbers begin 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, ... Work out the next term in the sequence.
(a)25
(b)20
(c)18
(d)21
8.Which of these points lies in the first quadrant?
(a)(−1, −4)
(b)(4, −1)
(c)(−2, 3)
(d)(3, 5)
9.Work out an estimate for 8,900 ÷ 29, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
(a)300
(b)307
(c)450
(d)3,000
10.The thickness of a sheet of card is 0.02384 cm. Write this thickness correct to 2 significant figures.
(a)0.02 cm
(b)0.023 cm
(c)0.0238 cm
(d)0.024 cm
11.A force of 20 N acts on an area of 4 m². Using pressure = force ÷ area, work out the pressure, in pascals.
(a)5
(b)24
(c)80
(d)16
12.A cube has all of its edges the same length. How many planes of symmetry does it have?
(a)9
(b)6
(c)12
(d)3

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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