Algebra worksheet — GCSE Foundation

1.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.

2.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.

3.A formula is F = 4s. A pupil says that when s = 5 the value of F is 9, because they added 4 and 5 instead of multiplying. Work out the correct value of F when s = 5.

4.A phone company works out a monthly bill, £B, using the formula B = 18 + 0.05t, where £18 is the fixed monthly charge and t is the number of extra text messages sent beyond the free allowance, each charged at 5p. Farida's bill for one month is £24.50. Work out the number of extra text messages, t, she sent.

5.The braking distance of a car, in metres, is estimated using the formula d = 0.4v² + 6, where v is the speed in mph. A car travelling at 35 mph brakes. Work out the estimated braking distance.

6.A car park charges by the hour. Parking for 1 hour costs £5, 2 hours costs £9, 3 hours costs £13 and 4 hours costs £17, with the cost increasing by the same amount for each extra hour. Work out an expression, in terms of n, for the cost, in pounds, of parking for n hours.

7.Kai writes the expression 8 − 3x + 5x² and says it has three terms. Ryan says it only has two terms because a number on its own is not a term. Work out the correct number of terms in the expression.

8.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.

9.A taxi company charges a £2.50 booking fee plus £1.80 per mile. A journey costs £15.10 in total. Work out the number of miles travelled.

10.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.

11.A number, n, is tripled and then 4.5 is added. The result is 22.5. Form an equation and solve it to find n.

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

13.Which expression is equivalent to 0.5(4x + 6) − x?

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

15.A hiker's distance-time graph shows the following: he walks 5 km in the first 1 hour at a steady speed, rests for 1 hour, then walks a further 9 km in the next 2 hours, also at a steady speed. Work out his average speed for the whole journey, in km/h.