12 short questions across all six content areas, designed as a lesson starter or a daily warm-up.
⏱️ Ten-minute starters — Foundation
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 curve has equation y = x² − 9. Which statement about its graph is correct?y = x² − 9
- 2.The number of pages in a book is 240, correct to the nearest 10 pages. Write down the error interval for the actual number of pages, n.
- 3.Work out the coordinates of the reflection of (6, −3) in the y-axis.
- 4.Make x the subject of the formula y = 5x + 3.y = 5x + 3
- 5.Three consecutive integers add up to 72. Using n for the smallest integer, form an equation and solve it to find the smallest of the three integers.
- 6.The formula connecting distance (d), speed (s) and time (t) is d = st. Make s the subject of the formula.
- 7.A school trip took 200 pupils to a museum, travelling either by coach or by minibus. A frequency tree records the trip: 150 pupils travelled by coach, split into 90 in Year 8 and the rest in Year 9. All the pupils who travelled by minibus were in Year 8. Work out the total number of Year 8 pupils on the trip.
- 8.Work out an estimate for 2.9² + 3.1², by rounding each number to the nearest whole number.
- 9.The simultaneous equations 2x + 3y = 12 and x − y = 1 are given. Work out the value of y.
- 10.A solid has one curved surface and two flat circular faces of equal size, one at each end. What is the name of this solid?
- 11.A graph has equation y = −2x² + 5. Which statement about its shape is correct?y = -2x² + 5
- 12.A diameter divides a circle into two equal halves. Write down the special name given to each of these two halves.
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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