Printable · GCSE Foundation · ages 14-16
Geometry and measures worksheet — GCSE Foundation
Fifteen questions across the geometry and measures statements at Foundation tier. Choose the non-calculator filter to rehearse Paper 1, which counts for a third of the marks.
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Answer key: Geometry and measures worksheet — GCSE Foundation
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- (a) 250° — The back bearing (the bearing of A from B) differs from the bearing of B from A by exactly 180°. Because the given bearing, 070°, is less than 180°, add 180°: 070 + 180 = 250°, so the bearing of A from B is 250°. Choosing 180° assumes the back bearing is always exactly 180°, ignoring the original bearing altogether. Choosing 110° comes from subtracting 180° from 070° and dropping the negative sign (070 − 180 = −110) instead of adding 180°. Choosing 160° comes from adding only 90° instead of 180° (070 + 90 = 160).
- (b) x = 5 — Every point on a vertical line has the same x-coordinate, so the equation of a vertical line through (5, 2) is x = 5. "y = 5" mixes up the coordinates, using the x-value of 5 to write a y-equation. "y = 2" is the equation of the horizontal line through (5, 2), not the vertical one. "x = 2" uses the correct letter but the wrong coordinate, the y-value of 2 instead of the x-value of 5.
- (d) 6.7 cm — Volume of the sphere = (4/3)πr³ = (4/3) × 3.14 × 5³ = (4/3) × 3.14 × 125 = 523.33 cm³. Set this equal to the cylinder's volume πr²h: 523.33 = 3.14 × 25 × h = 78.5h. Divide: h = 523.33 ÷ 78.5 = 6.667 cm, which rounds to 6.7 cm. 1.7 cm comes from using the sphere's diameter, 10 cm, as the cylinder's radius: 523.33 ÷ (3.14 × 10²) = 1.7 cm.
- (c) 3028 cm² — Split the window into a rectangle and a semicircle. Rectangle area = 40 × 60 = 2400 cm². The semicircle has radius 40 ÷ 2 = 20 cm, so its area = 0.5 × 3.14 × 20² = 628 cm². Total area = 2400 + 628 = 3028 cm². A student who uses a full circle instead of a semicircle on top of the rectangle gets 3.14 × 20² = 1256 cm² for the circle, plus 2400 cm² for the rectangle, totalling 3656 cm². A student who uses the rectangle's full width (40 cm) as the radius instead of halving it gets 0.5 × 3.14 × 40² = 2512 cm² for the semicircle, plus 2400 cm² for the rectangle, totalling 4912 cm².
- (b) 113.04 cm² — Sector area is (angle ÷ 360) × π × radius², and radius means the RADIUS, not the diameter: here the diameter is 24 cm, so the radius is 12 cm. The fraction is 90 ÷ 360 = 1/4, and 12² = 144, so the area is 0.25 × 3.14 × 144 = 113.04 cm². Using the diameter itself as if it were the radius gives 0.25 × 3.14 × 576 = 452.16 cm². Using the arc-length formula, 2 × π × radius, instead of the area formula gives 0.25 × 2 × 3.14 × 12 = 18.84 cm². Using the radius instead of its square gives 0.25 × 3.14 × 12 = 9.42 cm².
- (c) 11.0 cm — Arc length = (angle ÷ 360) × 2 × π × r = (90 ÷ 360) × 2 × 3.14 × 7 = 0.25 × 43.96 = 10.99 cm, which rounds to 11.0 cm. (44.0 cm comes from finding the full circumference, 2 × 3.14 × 7 = 43.96 cm, and forgetting the angle fraction; 5.5 cm comes from leaving out the factor of 2, using π × r instead of 2 × π × r, giving 0.25 × 3.14 × 7 = 5.495 cm; 22.0 cm comes from using the diameter, 14 cm, in place of the radius, giving 0.25 × 2 × 3.14 × 14 = 21.98 cm.)
- (d) £50 — Area = 1/2 × (3.5 + 6.5) × 4 = 1/2 × 10 × 4 = 20 m². Cost = 20 × £2.50 = £50. (£100 comes from forgetting to halve the trapezium area, giving 40 m² instead of 20 m²; £65 comes from using only the longer parallel side, 6.5 × 4 = 26 m², instead of the trapezium formula; £35 comes from adding all three given lengths, 3.5 + 6.5 + 4, and treating that total as the area in square metres.)
- (c) tan θ = opposite/adjacent — The tangent ratio is defined as tan θ = opposite/adjacent, so this is the ratio that connects the opposite and adjacent sides. "sin θ = opposite/adjacent" wrongly labels this ratio as sine, when sine actually connects the opposite side and the hypotenuse. "cos θ = opposite/adjacent" wrongly labels it as cosine, when cosine connects the adjacent side and the hypotenuse. "tan θ = adjacent/opposite" uses the correct ratio name but has the opposite and adjacent sides the wrong way round.
- (d) 38 m² — The two fences meet at a right angle, so the rope sweeps a quarter of a circle: 90 ÷ 360 = 1/4. Grazing area = (90 ÷ 360) × 3.14 × 7² = 0.25 × 153.86 = 38.465 m², which rounds to 38 m². (5 m² comes from forgetting to square the rope length; 154 m² comes from finding the area of a full circle and forgetting the angle fraction; 11 m² comes from using the arc length formula instead of the sector area formula.)
- (c) 7.1 cm — Method: a shorter side is opposite the 45° angle and the hypotenuse is known, so sin θ = opposite ÷ hypotenuse gives that side directly. Working: sin 45° = x ÷ 10, so x = 10 × sin 45° = 7.071…, which is 7.1 to 1 decimal place. Answer: 7.1 cm. The distractors: 5.0 cm comes from halving the hypotenuse, which is the rule for the side opposite a 30° angle and not a 45° one; 14.1 cm comes from dividing by sin 45° instead of multiplying by it, which makes a shorter side longer than the hypotenuse; 10.0 cm comes from taking tan 45° = 1 and concluding that the shorter side matches the hypotenuse.
- (d) 21.2 m — Method: the cable is the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle whose vertical side is the drop from the roof to the bracket and whose horizontal side is 15 m, so use Pythagoras' theorem. Working: the drop is 20 − 5 = 15 m, so c² = 15² + 15² = 225 + 225 = 450 and c = √450 = 21.213…, which is 21.2 m to 1 decimal place. Answer: 21.2 m. The distractors: 25.0 m comes from using the whole 20 m height of the roof as the vertical side and forgetting that the bracket is already 5 m up; 30.0 m comes from adding the two sides of the triangle, 15 + 15, instead of using Pythagoras' theorem; 15.0 m is the horizontal distance on its own, which would be the length of the cable only if it ran level.
- (a) 150° — The arc length is the same fraction of the circumference as the angle is of 360°. The full circumference is 2 × 3.14 × 6 = 37.68 cm, so the angle is 15.7 ÷ 37.68 × 360 = 150°. Treating the 6 cm as a diameter instead of a radius gives a circumference of 18.84 cm and an angle of 300°. Using π = 3 instead of the given 3.14 gives a circumference of 36 cm and an angle of 157°. Treating the fraction 15.7 ÷ 37.68 as being out of 100 rather than 360 gives about 42°.
- (b) Acute — An acute angle is any angle less than 90°. Since 47° is less than 90°, it is acute. An obtuse angle is between 90° and 180°, which 47° is not. A reflex angle is greater than 180°, which is far too big for 47°. A right angle is exactly 90°, not 47°. The angle is acute.
- (a) 4700 cm² — Method: split the T-shaped outline into the two rectangles it is made from, find the area of each, then add them together. Working: the wide base gives a rectangle 90 cm × 30 cm = 2700 cm²; the narrower block on top gives a rectangle 40 cm × 50 cm = 2000 cm²; adding these, 2700 + 2000 = 4700 cm². Answer: 4700 cm². The distractors: 2700 cm² comes from finding only the area of the base rectangle and forgetting to add the block on top. 2000 cm² comes from finding only the area of the top block and forgetting the base. 7200 cm² comes from treating the whole outline as one large rectangle, 90 cm wide by (30 + 50) = 80 cm tall, instead of splitting it into the two separate rectangles that actually make up the shape.
- (b) 3 — The real width is 0.6 × 500 = 300 cm, which converts to 3 m by dividing by 100. A candidate who uses the wrong side of the rectangle, 1.2 cm, instead of the 0.6 cm width, gets 1.2 × 500 = 600 cm = 6 m. A candidate who multiplies correctly but converts the 300 cm to metres by dividing by 1000 instead of 100 gets 0.3 m. A candidate who converts by dividing by 10 instead of 100 gets 30 m. The real width of the bay is 3 m.
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