Algebra worksheet — GCSE Foundation

1.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.

2.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.

3.The formula for the perimeter of a square is P = 4s, where s is the side length. Make s the subject of the formula.

4.On Monday, a runner covers 15 km in 2.5 hours. On Tuesday, she covers 12 km in 1.5 hours. Using the formula speed = distance ÷ time, work out on which day she ran faster, and by how much.

5.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.

6.Explain why the equation 4x + 3 = 4x + 10 has no solution for x.

7.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.

8.Work out the value of 5m² + 3m when m = −2.4

9.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.

10.A park is drawn on a grid in which 1 unit represents 1 km. The car park is at the point (0, 0) and the lake is at the point (3, 5). Work out the direct distance, in km, from the car park to the lake, giving your answer to 1 decimal place.

11.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.

12.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.

13.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.

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

15.Look at the statement 2x + 5 = 17. Considering whether it is an expression, an equation, a formula, or an identity, which classification is correct?