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.A sequence has the position-to-term rule n² + 2, where n is the position number. Work out the 6th term.
(a)38
(b)36
(c)64
(d)14
2.A model of a bridge is built to a scale where every length on the model is 1/240 of the matching length on the real bridge. A support beam on the model measures 3.6 cm. Work out the length of the real support beam, giving your answer in metres.
(a)86.4 m
(b)8.64 m
(c)0.0864 m
(d)864 m
3.An isosceles triangle ABC has AB equal to AC. AM is a line from vertex A, perpendicular to BC, meeting BC at point M. Which condition proves that triangle ABM is congruent to triangle ACM?
(a)SAS, right angle as included angle
(b)ASA, AB as the included side
(c)SSS, using BM = CM as a fact
(d)RHS, using AM as common side
4.A straight line has gradient −2 and passes through the point (3, 1). Work out the equation of the line.
(a)y = −2x + 7
(b)y = −2x − 5
(c)y = 2x + 7
(d)y = −2x + 1
5.The cross-section of a tent is an isosceles triangle. The angle at the top, between the two equal sloping sides, is 62°. The other two angles are equal to each other. Work out the size of each of those two angles.
(a)59°
(b)118°
(c)62°
(d)31°
6.A candle is 30 cm tall when lit and burns at a constant rate. After burning for 5 minutes, its height is 20 cm. The height h cm after t minutes is given by h = 30 − mt. Work out the value of m.
(a)2
(b)4
(c)10
(d)0.5
7.Write the ratio 0.75 : 2 as a ratio of whole numbers in its simplest form.
(a)0.75 : 2
(b)75 : 200
(c)3 : 2
(d)3 : 8
8.A grower knows that the probability that one of their seeds germinates is 0.6. The grower wants to expect 300 of the seeds to germinate. Work out how many seeds the grower should plant.
(a)120
(b)180
(c)500
(d)750
9.Which one of these statements is true?
(a)−3 ≥ −1
(b)0.4 < 2/5
(c)−5 ≤ −5
(d)7/10 ≤ 0.6
10.A survey asks 40 people whether they own a cat, a dog, both, or neither. 12 people own only a cat, 15 own only a dog, 5 own both, and 8 own neither. Work out the probability that a randomly chosen person owns a cat or a dog (or both). Give your answer as a fraction in its simplest form.
(a)37/40
(b)27/40
(c)4/5
(d)1/5
11.A window display has red baubles, gold baubles and green baubles in the ratio 4 : 5 : 6. What fraction of the baubles are not green?
(a)9/10
(b)3/5
(c)4/15
(d)2/5
12.The speed of a car is given by v = d ÷ t. A car travels 180 km in 3 hours. Work out the average speed of the car in km/h.
(a)90 km/h
(b)540 km/h
(c)18 km/h
(d)60 km/h

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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