Real-life graphs and kinematics worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A graph shows the total monthly cost of a mobile phone tariff against the number of minutes of calls. The line starts at £12 and stays level until 200 minutes, then rises by 5p for each further minute of calls. Use the graph to work out the total cost of a month in which 250 minutes of calls are made.

2.A population of bacteria doubles every 3 hours. It starts at 800. Work out the population after 9 hours.

3.A machine bought for £2,400 loses 12% of its value every year. After how many complete years does its value first fall below £1,500?

4.The mass of a chemical sample decays by 15% every hour. It starts at 500 g. Work out the mass remaining after 3 hours, correct to 1 decimal place.

5.A delivery van's distance-time graph shows the following: it travels 9 km in the first 15 minutes at a steady speed, stops for 45 minutes to unload, then travels a further 21 km in the next 30 minutes, also at a steady speed. Work out the average speed, in km/h, for the whole journey.

6.A speed-time graph for a car shows the speed increasing steadily from 5 m/s to 17 m/s over 6 seconds. Work out the acceleration of the car, in m/s².

7.A cyclist's speed-time graph is described as follows: speed increases steadily from 0 m/s to 8 m/s over the first 4 seconds, stays constant at 8 m/s for the next 6 seconds, then decreases steadily to 0 m/s over the final 2 seconds. Work out the total distance travelled.

8.A walker's distance-time graph is described as follows: she walks 3 km in the first 15 minutes at a steady speed, rests for 10 minutes, then walks a further 3 km in the next 20 minutes, also at a steady speed. Work out her speed, in km/h, during the first 15 minutes.

9.A train's distance-time graph shows it travelling 100 km at a steady speed in the first 1.5 hours, waiting at a signal for 0.25 hours, then travelling a further 47 km in 0.75 hours. Work out the average speed for the whole journey, correct to 1 decimal place.

10.A ferry's distance-time graph is a straight line from (0 minutes, 0 km) to (25 minutes, 15 km). Work out the ferry's speed in kilometres per hour.

11.The graph of P = 480 ÷ V shows how the pressure, P pascals, of a gas depends on its volume, V cm³, at constant temperature. Use the relationship to work out the volume when the pressure is 32 pascals, and then work out by how much the volume increases when the pressure drops to 24 pascals.

12.A bacteria colony doubles every 4 hours and its size is recorded only every 4 hours. The recorded population 20 hours after the start is 9,600. After how many hours did the recorded population first exceed 1,000?

13.The graph of W = 840 ÷ L shows how the width, W metres, of a rectangular field of area 840 m² depends on its length, L metres. Use the relationship to work out the width when the length is 35 m, and hence the perimeter of the field.

14.The graph of y = 60 × (0.5)ˣ is sketched for x ≥ 0. Which statement correctly describes what happens to the curve as x increases?

15.The graph of y = 20/x is drawn for x > 0. As the value of x increases, what happens to the value of y?