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.The first four terms of a sequence are 18, 15, 12, 9. Work out an expression, in terms of n, for the nth term.
- 2.Here are the first five terms of an arithmetic sequence: 2, 5, 8, 11, 14. Work out the 8th term.
- 3.Two similar triangles have lengths in the ratio 5 : 8. A side of the smaller triangle is 6.5 cm. Work out the length of the corresponding side of the larger triangle.
- 4.In a school long jump competition Priya's jump is recorded as 3.8 m and Nadia's jump is recorded as 3.9 m, each correct to the nearest 0.1 m. Priya says she may have jumped further than Nadia. Decide whether Priya is right, and give a reason for your answer.
- 5.5 tins of soup cost £8 in total. Work out the multiplier that changes the number of tins into the total cost in pounds.
- 6.On the probability scale from 0 to 1, which word best describes an event with probability 0.9?
- 7.A sequence has the position-to-term rule n² − 3, where n is the position number. Work out the difference between the 6th term and the 5th term.
- 8.A square tile has sides of length 6 cm. Work out the area of the tile.
- 9.A car is bought for £9000. Its value decreases by 8% each year. Work out its value after 2 years.
- 10.Solve the inequality 3x + 6 ≤ 0.
- 11.Two goalkeepers face penalty kicks. Elin saves 34% of the penalties she faces. Noah saves 11/32 of the penalties he faces. Which statement correctly compares them?
- 12.Write down how many right angles a right-angled triangle has.
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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