Algebra worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A company charges for hiring chairs for a day. Hiring 1 chair costs £12, hiring 2 chairs costs £19, hiring 3 chairs costs £26, and hiring 4 chairs costs £33. Work out an expression, in terms of n, for the cost in pounds of hiring n chairs for a day.

2.A circle has centre (0, 0) and passes through the point (7, 24). Work out the equation of the circle.

3.A rule turns each input into an output. An input of 0 gives an output of −1, an input of 1 gives an output of 1, and an input of 2 gives an output of 3. Work out the rule, writing the input as x and the output as y.

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 coach company charges a booking fee plus a price for each passenger. A booking for 1 passenger costs £9, for 2 passengers costs £15, for 3 passengers costs £21, and for 4 passengers costs £27. Work out an expression, in terms of n, for the cost in pounds of a booking for n passengers.

6.A hot air balloon is at a height of 20 m and rises at a steady rate. After 4 minutes it is at a height of 52 m. Work out the rate at which the balloon rises, in metres per minute.

7.A student attempts to prove that the product of two consecutive integers is always even: (i) Let the two consecutive integers be n and n + 1. (ii) Since n(n + 1) is even, one of n and n + 1 must be an even number. (iii) Therefore, n(n + 1) is even. At which statement does the proof first assume the very fact it is trying to prove?

8.The equation 3(2x − 1) = 4x + 9 is rearranged by expanding the brackets. Which of these is the correctly expanded equation?

9.The graph of y = f(x) has a maximum turning point at (−1, 6). Write down the coordinates of the maximum turning point of the graph of y = f(x − 3).

10.A lift has a weight limit: it must carry no more than 630 kg. Let w be the total weight, in kg, carried by the lift. Which inequality describes this?

11.A charity's fundraising total, T pounds, over d days follows T = (d − 3)(30 − d) for 3 ≤ d ≤ 30, where T = 0 marks the start and end of the campaign. Work out how many days the campaign runs for, from start to end.

12.Solve 4(x − 3) = 2x + 6.

13.Solve the inequality 2(x − 1) ≤ 8.

14.Expand and simplify (2x − 1)(x + 5)(x − 2). Write down the coefficient of x in your answer.

15.The trapezium rule is used to estimate the area under a curve between x = 2 and x = 6. The curve is concave up (it curves upwards, like the inside of a bowl) throughout this interval. Which statement about the estimate is correct?