Printable · GCSE Foundation · ages 14-16

Forming and solving equations from situations worksheet — GCSE Foundation

Fifteen questions on "forming and solving equations from situations" — DfE statement A21. Print it, or print three versions so neighbours cannot copy by letter; the key gives the letter for each version.

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Forming and solving equations from situations worksheet — GCSE Foundation

Maths · GCSE Foundation · A21 · Forming and solving equations from situations · Non-calculator · 15 questions

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1.The mean of four numbers is 12.5. Three of the numbers are 8, 15 and 19. Form an equation using n for the fourth number, and solve it to find n.
(a)−4.5
(b)50
(c)29.5
(d)8
2.Sophie's mother is 34 years old. In x years' time she will be 50 years old. Work out the value of x.
(a)16
(b)24
(c)84
(d)50
3.A scout leader is 44 years old and one of the scouts is 16 years old. Work out how many years it will be until the leader is exactly twice as old as the scout.
(a)6 years
(b)12 years
(c)14 years
(d)28 years
4.A taxi charges a fixed fee of £3 plus £2 for every mile travelled. The journey is m miles. Write down an expression for the total cost, in pounds.
(a)2 + 3m
(b)3 + 2m
(c)5 + m
(d)5m
5.Six years ago Harry was three times as old as his brother Leo. Harry is now 24 years old. Work out Leo's age now.
(a)12
(b)8
(c)36
(d)6
6.A regular hexagon has sides of length (x + 2) cm. Write down an expression, in terms of x, for the perimeter of the hexagon.
(a)6x + 12
(b)6x + 2
(c)x + 12
(d)8x
7.Ethan is 10 years old and his father is 40 years old. Work out how many years ago Ethan's father was seven times as old as Ethan.
(a)24
(b)35
(c)5
(d)30
8.A rectangle has width x cm. Its length is 3 cm more than its width. The perimeter of the rectangle is 38 cm. Form an equation and solve it to find x.
(a)9.5
(b)8
(c)17.5
(d)4.75
9.Jack is x years old. His brother Kwame is 3 years older than Jack. Write down an expression for Kwame's age.
(a)x + 3
(b)3 − x
(c)x − 3
(d)3x
10.Explain why the equation 4x + 3 = 4x + 10 has no solution for x.
(a)Subtracting 4x gives 3 = 10, which is never true.
(b)x would have to be negative, but x must be positive.
(c)It's true for every x, so there are infinite solutions.
(d)x = 7, since 10 − 3 = 7.
11.A rectangle has length k cm and width 5 cm less than its length. Write down an expression for the width of the rectangle, in cm.
(a)k + 5
(b)k − 5
(c)5k
(d)5 − k
12.Two brothers have ages that add up to 30. The elder brother is 6 years older than the younger brother. Work out the age of the younger brother.
(a)24
(b)18
(c)15
(d)12
13.Oliver buys b pens. Each pen costs £2. Write down an expression for the total cost, in pounds.
(a)2b
(b)b + 2
(c)2b + 2
(d)b/2
14.A phone plan costs a fixed £15 per month plus 8p per minute of calls. In one month, Jamal's bill was £23.80. Form an equation using m for the number of minutes, and solve it to find how many minutes Jamal used that month.
(a)485
(b)1.1
(c)297.5
(d)110
15.A box contains 6 chocolates. Write down an expression for the total number of chocolates in c boxes.
(a)6c
(b)6 + c
(c)c ÷ 6
(d)c − 6

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