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 sector has an angle of 45°. Priti says: 'The area of the sector is one eighth of the area of the full circle, whatever the radius is.' Is Priti correct?
(a)No, because 45 ÷ 360 = 1/6, not 1/8.
(b)Yes, but only because the radius happens to make 45° exactly one eighth of a full turn in this particular circle.
(c)No, because the fraction of the area also depends on the radius, so it is not fixed.
(d)Yes, because 45 ÷ 360 = 1/8, and this fraction applies to any radius.
2.The graph of y = 20/x is drawn for x > 0. As the value of x increases, what happens to the value of y?
(a)y stays the same however large x becomes
(b)y decreases towards zero but never reaches it
(c)y increases towards a limit but never reaches it
(d)y decreases at a steady rate and reaches zero
3.150 pupils are asked about swimming and cycling, and the results are recorded on a frequency tree. The first pair of branches splits the 150 pupils into 90 who swim and 60 who do not swim. Of the 90 who swim, 54 also cycle. Of the 60 who do not swim, 18 cycle. Work out P(S ∩ C), the probability that a pupil, chosen at random, swims and cycles. Give your answer as a fraction in its simplest form.
(a)3/5
(b)3/25
(c)9/25
(d)12/25
4.A rectangular notice board measures 150 cm by 80 cm. Work out its area in m².
(a)120 m²
(b)12 m²
(c)4.6 m²
(d)1.2 m²
5.A sunflower is 140 cm tall. A tomato plant is 80 cm tall. Write the height of the tomato plant as a fraction of the height of the sunflower, giving your answer in its simplest form.
(a)7/4
(b)3/7
(c)4/11
(d)4/7
6.Write these three numbers in order, starting with the smallest: 3/5, 0.55, 58%
(a)0.55, 58%, 3/5
(b)58%, 0.55, 3/5
(c)3/5, 0.55, 58%
(d)3/5, 58%, 0.55
7.A cylinder has a radius of 3 cm and a height of 10 cm. Using π = 3.14, work out the volume of the cylinder.
(a)94.2 cm³
(b)90 cm³
(c)282.6 cm³
(d)1130.4 cm³
8.A straight-line graph shows the number of pages printed, p, plotted against the time in minutes, t, since a printer started a print job. The line passes through the points (2, 30) and (5, 90). Work out the gradient of the line.
(a)18
(b)20
(c)0.05
(d)−20
9.A circular table mat has diameter 20 cm. Yasmin has a 70 cm length of ribbon and sews it around the edge of the mat with no overlap. Using π = 3.14, work out how much ribbon is left over after going around the mat once.
(a)7.2 cm
(b)50 cm
(c)20 cm
(d)62.8 cm
10.Which of these equations gives a straight-line graph when plotted?
(a)y = 3/x
(b)y = 2x − 3
(c)y = x³ − 3
(d)y = x² − 3
11.A hexagonal prism lies on a table. A flat cut is made straight across it, at right angles to its length (so the cut is parallel to the two identical end faces). What shape is the cross-section?
(a)Pentagon
(b)Hexagon
(c)Rectangle
(d)Triangle
12.A cyclist rides at a steady speed of 8 metres per second. Work out this speed in kilometres per hour.
(a)28.8 km/h
(b)0.48 km/h
(c)2.22 km/h
(d)28 800 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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