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.Dice A is a fair six-sided dice. Dice B is biased so that P(6) = 0.3. Dice A is rolled 150 times and Dice B is rolled 150 times. Work out how many more sixes you would expect from Dice B than from Dice A.
(a)20
(b)0
(c)45
(d)70
2.A student says that 5(x + 2) is equivalent to 5x + 2. Which statement explains why the student is wrong?
(a)Addition must always be done before multiplication, so 5(x + 2) equals 5x + 10 only when x = 0.
(b)The bracket must be worked out first using a value of x, so the two expressions can only be compared once x is known.
(c)The 5 must multiply both terms inside the bracket, so 5(x + 2) expands to 5x + 10, which is never equal to 5x + 2 for any value of x.
(d)5(x + 2) means 5 × x + 2, so the student's answer of 5x + 2 is actually correct.
3.A fair coin is flipped and a fair three-sided spinner, labelled X, Y and Z, is spun. Every outcome is listed as a pair, such as (H, X). Work out the probability that the outcome is a head and Z.
(a)1/2
(b)1/6
(c)1/3
(d)1/5
4.The formula for the perimeter of a square is P = 4s, where s is the side length. Make s the subject of the formula.
(a)s = P − 4
(b)s = P + 4
(c)s = P / 4
(d)s = 4P
5.A sector of a circle has an angle of 90° at the centre. Write down what fraction of the whole circle this sector represents.
(a)3/4
(b)1/2
(c)1/4
(d)1/8
6.A roof has two triangular sections, P and Q. Section P has a sloping edge of 3.6 m and a base edge of 2.4 m, with an angle of 70° between them. Section Q has a sloping edge of 3.6 m and a base edge of 2.4 m, with an angle of 70° between them, arranged the same way round. A roofer wants to cut identical triangular felt panels for both sections without measuring Section Q separately. Which condition confirms that the two sections are congruent?
(a)ASA — angle between two sides
(b)SSS — but only two sides given
(c)Cannot prove — only one angle
(d)SAS — two sides, included angle
7.An ordinary fair dice is rolled twice. Work out the probability of getting at least one 5.
(a)30/36
(b)11/36
(c)25/36
(d)12/36
8.A number, n, is equal to 3.7 when rounded to 1 decimal place. Write down the error interval for n.
(a)3.6 ≤ n < 3.8
(b)3.65 ≤ n < 3.75
(c)3.65 < n < 3.75
(d)3.65 ≤ n ≤ 3.75
9.A student writes 0.08 as the fraction 8/10, reading the 8 as if it stood in the tenths column and ignoring the zero. Work out the correct fraction that 0.08 is equal to, giving your answer in its simplest form.
(a)25/2
(b)1/125
(c)4/5
(d)2/25
10.An oven is preheating. Its temperature, T °C, is plotted against time, t minutes, on a straight-line graph. The line passes through the points (2, 60) and (6, 140). Work out the gradient of the line.
(a)−20
(b)30
(c)40
(d)20
11.A scout leader is 44 years old and one of the scouts is 16 years old. Work out how many years it will be until the leader is exactly twice as old as the scout.
(a)6 years
(b)12 years
(c)14 years
(d)28 years
12.A Year 10 class has 20 boys with a mean height of 150 cm and 10 girls with a mean height of 168 cm. Work out the mean height of all 30 pupils in the class.
(a)4,680 cm
(b)234 cm
(c)156 cm
(d)159 cm

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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