Algebra worksheet — GCSE Foundation

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.

2.A rectangular photo has length (x + 3) cm and width x cm. Its area is 40 cm². Work out the value of x.

3.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.

4.A plumber charges a call-out fee of £30 plus £25 for each hour worked. The total bill for a job was £130. Work out how many hours the plumber worked.

5.The formula for the perimeter of a rectangle is P = 2(l + w). One rectangle has l = 9 cm and w = 4 cm. A second rectangle has l = 6 cm and w = 5 cm. Work out how many cm greater the perimeter of the first rectangle is than the perimeter of the second.

6.A tree is 2 metres tall. Each year its height increases by 10% of its height at the start of that year. Work out the height of the tree after 3 years, giving your answer to 1 decimal place.

7.A taxi firm charges a fixed fee of £3.50 plus £2.20 per mile. Work out the total cost of a journey of 6 miles.

8.Work out the value of 3b − 4 when b = 6

9.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.

10.A rectangle has length (2x + 5) cm and width (x − 2) cm. Work out an expression, in terms of x, for the perimeter of the rectangle. Give your answer in its simplest form.

11.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.

12.The graph of y = x² − 2x − 8 takes these values: when x = −2, y = 0; when x = −1, y = −5; when x = 0, y = −8; when x = 3, y = −5; when x = 4, y = 0. Use these values to write down the two solutions of x² − 2x − 8 = 0.

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

14.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.

15.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.