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.For two triangles to be proved congruent using SAS, which two facts must be true about both triangles?
(a)Two sides equal, with the angle between them equal
(b)Two angles equal, with the side between them equal
(c)All three pairs of sides equal
(d)Two sides equal, and any one angle equal
2.A car passes the 15 km marker on a road and passes the 195 km marker 3 hours later. Work out the gradient of the distance-time graph, that is the rate of change of distance with time.
(a)3 km/h
(b)60 km/h
(c)195 km/h
(d)180 km/h
3.Work out the value of 5m² + 3m when m = −2.4
(a)36
(b)29.4
(c)21.6
(d)−36
4.On a scatter graph of the age of a car, in years, and its value, in pounds, the points fall from left to right. Write down the type of correlation shown.
(a)Negative correlation
(b)Positive correlation
(c)Strong causation
(d)No correlation
5.A circular coin has a diameter of 3 cm. Work out the circumference of the coin. Give your answer in terms of π.
(a)1.5π cm
(b)9π cm
(c)3π cm
(d)6π cm
6.A cyclist's journey from her house to the shop is represented by the column vector with top number 2 and bottom number 5, where each unit is 1 km east and 1 km north. She then cycles from the shop to the park, represented by the column vector with top number 4 and bottom number −3. What single column vector represents her journey from her house directly to the park?
(a)(2, −8)
(b)(6, 2)
(c)(6, 8)
(d)(−2, 8)
7.Sara has a red T-shirt, a blue T-shirt and a green T-shirt. She has black shorts and grey shorts. By listing the combinations systematically, work out how many different outfits of one T-shirt and one pair of shorts she can make.
(a)3
(b)5
(c)6
(d)2
8.A factory machine produces bottles at a constant rate. In 45 minutes it produces 810 bottles. The factory needs 2,160 bottles for an order. Working at the same rate, work out how many minutes it will take to produce the order.
(a)48 minutes
(b)120 minutes
(c)108 minutes
(d)1,350 minutes
9.A trapezium has an area of 45 cm², a perpendicular height of 5 cm, and one parallel side of length 10 cm. Work out the length of the other parallel side.
(a)18 cm
(b)28 cm
(c)8 cm
(d)4 cm
10.The times taken, in minutes, by 30 runners in a Portsmouth fun run are grouped in this table: 0 < t ≤ 20 — 5 runners, 20 < t ≤ 40 — 10 runners, 40 < t ≤ 60 — 10 runners, 60 < t ≤ 80 — 5 runners. Work out an estimate for the mean time, in minutes.
(a)7.5 minutes
(b)50 minutes
(c)40 minutes
(d)1200 minutes
11.Work out 1 1/2 ÷ 3/4 exactly, giving your answer in its simplest form.
(a)9/8
(b)2/3
(c)2
(d)1/2
12.A box stands on a table. The box exerts a force of 240 N on the table, and the base of the box has an area of 0.8 m². Work out the pressure the box exerts on the table, in N/m².
(a)300 N/m²
(b)3000 N/m²
(c)192 N/m²
(d)30 N/m²

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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