Ratio in similar shapes: lengths, areas and volumes worksheet — GCSE Foundation

1.A scale model of a shipping container is built at a scale of 1 : 30, using material with the same density as the real container. The model has a mass of 400 g. Work out the mass of the real container, giving your answer in kilograms.

2.A toy manufacturer makes a model aircraft that is mathematically similar to the real aircraft, at a scale of 1 : 48. The wingspan of the model is 15 cm. Work out the wingspan of the real aircraft, giving your answer in metres.

3.Two mathematically similar triangular flags have areas in the ratio 4 : 25. The height of the smaller flag is 6 cm. Work out the height of the larger flag.

4.Two mathematically similar picture frames have perimeters 30 cm and 45 cm. The area of the smaller frame is 40 cm². Work out the area of the larger frame.

5.Two mathematically similar cubes have edge lengths 2 cm and 6 cm. Write the ratio of the volume of the smaller cube to the volume of the larger cube in its simplest form.

6.Two mathematically similar cylinders have volumes 64 cm³ and 216 cm³. Work out the ratio of the height of the smaller cylinder to the height of the larger cylinder, in simplest form.

7.A garden centre sells two mathematically similar sacks of grass seed. The amount of lawn a sack can treat is proportional to the volume of seed inside it. The smaller sack is 20 cm tall and treats a lawn of area 30 m². The larger sack is 40 cm tall. A gardener needs to treat a lawn with an area of 500 m² using only the larger sacks. Work out the minimum number of larger sacks needed.

8.Triangle A and triangle B are mathematically similar. A side of triangle A is 5 cm long, and the corresponding side of triangle B is 15 cm long. Write the ratio of the length in triangle A to the length in triangle B in its simplest form.

9.Two mathematically similar water bottles have a volume scale factor of 8 from the smaller bottle to the larger bottle. Work out the surface area scale factor from the smaller bottle to the larger bottle.

10.Two mathematically similar oil drums have a length scale factor of 3 from the smaller drum to the larger drum. Work out the volume scale factor from the smaller drum to the larger drum.

11.A sculptor makes two mathematically similar statues. The smaller statue is 20 cm tall and 80 ml of varnish covers its surface. The larger statue is 50 cm tall. Work out how much varnish is needed to cover the surface of the larger statue.

12.A model car is built at a scale of 1 : 20 compared with the real car. Work out the factor by which the surface area to be painted on the real car is bigger than the surface area of the model.

13.Two mathematically similar polygons have perimeters in the ratio 2 : 5. Write the ratio of their areas in its simplest form.

14.Triangle ABC has a right angle at C. AC = 3 cm and BC = 4 cm. Triangle ABC is mathematically similar to triangle PQR, with angle B corresponding to angle Q. Work out the value of tan(angle Q).

15.Two mathematically similar rectangles have widths 5 cm and 10 cm. The perimeter of the smaller rectangle is 18 cm. Work out the perimeter of the larger rectangle.