Algebra worksheet — GCSE Foundation

1.A model rocket's height is given by h = −5t² + 20t, where h is in metres and t is in seconds. A student says the graph of h against t is n-shaped. Which statement gives the correct verdict on the SHAPE and the reason that settles it from the equation?

2.A plumber charges a call-out fee plus an hourly rate. The total cost, y in pounds, of a job lasting x hours is given by y = 45x + 60. Work out the total cost of a job that lasts 3 hours.

3.A quadratic graph y = ax² + bx + c has its turning point on the y-axis. Which statement about its roots must be true?

4.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.

5.Which expression means the same as 3 × a × b?

6.A colony of bacteria doubles in number every hour. At 9am there are 5 bacteria in the colony. Work out how many bacteria there will be at 12 noon.

7.Yuki is y years old. Her brother is 4 years younger than Yuki. Write down an expression, in terms of y, for the brother's age in 5 years' time.

8.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.

9.A stack of firewood has 3 logs in the top layer. Each layer below has 4 more logs than the layer above it. Work out the number of logs in the 6th layer from the top.

10.A cyclist's distance-time graph shows the following: she travels 12 km in the first 30 minutes at a steady speed, then rests for 30 minutes, then travels a further 8 km in the next 15 minutes. Work out her average speed, in km/h, for the whole journey.

11.A regular hexagon has sides of length (x + 2) cm. Write down an expression, in terms of x, for the perimeter of the hexagon.

12.A cafe sells coffees at £c each and pastries at £p each. Three coffees and two pastries cost £9.60. Two coffees and two pastries cost £7.60. Work out the price of one coffee.

13.Four sequences are shown below. Sequence P: 4, 8, 16, 32, ... Sequence Q: 4, 8, 12, 16, ... Sequence R: 4, 7, 12, 19, ... Sequence S: 4, 9, 16, 25, ... Work out which of the sequences P, Q, R and S is geometric.

14.A ball is thrown in the air. Its height, h metres, above the ground after t seconds is given in this table: when t = 0, h = 0; when t = 1, h = 15; when t = 2, h = 20; when t = 3, h = 15; when t = 4, h = 0. Use the table to find the two times, in seconds, at which the ball is at ground level.

15.A graph shows the total monthly cost of a mobile phone tariff against the number of minutes of calls. The line starts at £12 and stays level until 200 minutes, then rises by 5p for each further minute of calls. Use the graph to work out the total cost of a month in which 250 minutes of calls are made.