12 short questions across all six content areas, designed as a lesson starter or a daily warm-up.
⏱️ Ten-minute starters — Foundation
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 wooden block is a cuboid measuring 2 cm by 10 cm by 15 cm. Work out the volume of the block.
- 2.Write down the expression that means the same as 3 × y × y.
- 3.A number, n, is a multiple of both 6 and 9. Work out the smallest possible value of n that is greater than 20.
- 4.A fabric is dyed blue and yellow in the ratio 3 : 5. A tailor uses 1.5 m of blue fabric and the matching amount of yellow fabric needed for the ratio. Work out the total length of fabric used.
- 5.Work out an estimate for 79.3 − 24.6, by rounding each number to the nearest whole number.
- 6.A vertical line passes through the point (4, 7). Write down the equation of this line.
- 7.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.
- 8.Round 3.947 to 2 decimal places.
- 9.Write down which one of these statements about quadrilaterals is true.
- 10.Solve the simultaneous equations x + y = 15 and x − y = 3. Work out the value of x.
- 11.Kwame flips a fair coin three times and writes down what it lands on each time. Work out the probability that it lands on heads all three times.
- 12.A sector of a circle has radius 8 cm and takes up three-quarters of the full circle. Work out the perimeter of the sector, in terms of π.
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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