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.Map A has a scale of 1 : 25000 and Map B has a scale of 1 : 50000, both showing the same area. A real distance of 10 km is measured on each map. On which map does this distance appear as the longer length, and how long is it on that map, in centimetres?
(a)Map B, where the distance is 20 cm
(b)Map B, where the distance is 40 cm
(c)Map A, where the distance is 40 cm
(d)Map A, where the distance is 20 cm
2.The first five cube numbers are 1, 8, 27, 64, 125. Write down the next cube number in the sequence.
(a)216
(b)36
(c)180
(d)250
3.Four books have 120, 200, 160 and 80 pages. Work out the mean number of pages.
(a)120
(b)560
(c)140
(d)280
4.In a school choir the ratio of boys to girls is 3:4. When 6 more boys join the choir, the ratio of boys to girls becomes 1:1. Work out how many girls are in the choir.
(a)18
(b)24
(c)42
(d)30
5.Two broadband providers show their monthly cost on straight-line graphs, with the cost in pounds on the vertical axis and the data used in gigabytes on the horizontal axis. Provider X's line passes through (0, 15) and (100, 35). Provider Y's line passes through (0, 5) and (100, 45). Work out which provider is cheaper for a customer who uses 40 gigabytes in a month.
(a)Provider Y — £45.00 against Provider X's £35.00
(b)Provider Y — £21.00 against Provider X's £23.00
(c)Provider X — £15.00 against Provider Y's £5.00
(d)Provider X — £23.00 against Provider Y's £21.00
6.At a school fete, each raffle ticket wins a prize, wins a voucher or wins nothing, and no ticket can win more than one of these. The probability that a ticket wins a prize is 0.4 and the probability that it wins a voucher is 0.35. Work out the probability that a ticket wins a prize or a voucher.
(a)0.75
(b)0.14
(c)0.05
(d)0.25
7.In a class, 1/3 of the pupils are girls. There are 12 girls in the class. Work out how many pupils are in the class.
(a)18
(b)4
(c)24
(d)36
8.Write these numbers in order, starting with the largest: −0.6, 0.45, −0.15, 0.5, −0.09
(a)−0.6, −0.15, −0.09, 0.45, 0.5
(b)0.5, 0.45, −0.6, −0.15, −0.09
(c)0.5, 0.45, −0.09, −0.15, −0.6
(d)0.5, 0.45, −0.15, −0.09, −0.6
9.The number of visitors to a museum on Saturday is given as 1,800, correct to the nearest 100. Which of these could not be the actual number of visitors?
(a)1,850
(b)1,799
(c)1,760
(d)1,750
10.Two straight lines PQ and RS cross at point O. Angle POR = 52°. Work out angle QOS.
(a)104°
(b)38°
(c)52°
(d)128°
11.Write down the exact value of sin 0°.
(a)1/2
(b)0
(c)1
(d)undefined
12.Work out the value of 5a + 2 when a = 3
(a)17
(b)10
(c)15
(d)25

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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