Algebra worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.Solve the simultaneous equations 3x + y = 14 and x + y = 6. Work out the value of x.

2.ABCD is a parallelogram. A has coordinates (−3, 1), B has coordinates (2, 1) and C has coordinates (4, 4). Work out the coordinates of D.

3.A phone plan costs a fixed £15 per month plus 8p per minute of calls. In one month, Jamal's bill was £23.80. Form an equation using m for the number of minutes, and solve it to find how many minutes Jamal used that month.

4.Solve 2x² − 32 = 0.

5.A sequence has the position-to-term rule n² + 1, where n is the position number. Work out how much bigger the 5th term is than the 4th term.

6.A hiker's distance-time graph shows the following: he walks 5 km in the first 1 hour at a steady speed, rests for 1 hour, then walks a further 9 km in the next 2 hours, also at a steady speed. Work out his average speed for the whole journey, in km/h.

7.A market trader builds a display of oranges in a rectangular block. The block is n oranges wide and 4 oranges longer than it is wide. The number of oranges needed is 5 when n = 1, 12 when n = 2, 21 when n = 3, 32 when n = 4, and 45 when n = 5. Work out an expression, in terms of n, for the number of oranges needed for a display of width n.

8.The equation x² + 2x − 5 = 0 can be solved using the iterative formula xₙ₊₁ = 5/(xₙ + 2). The starting value is x₀ = 1, so x₁ is the value after the formula has been used once. Work out x₂ correct to 2 decimal places.

9.The formula for the volume of a cuboid is V = lwh, where l is the length, w is the width and h is the height. Make h the subject of the formula.

10.The point (20, 21) lies on the circle x² + y² = 841, which has centre O(0, 0). The tangent to the circle at (20, 21) crosses the x-axis at P and the y-axis at Q. Work out the area of triangle OPQ, correct to 1 decimal place.

11.The first five terms of a quadratic sequence are 4, 7, 12, 19, 28. Work out an expression, in terms of n, for the nth term.

12.A taxi fare, in pounds, for a journey of m miles is given by the formula F = 3 + 2.5m. A journey costs £15.50. Work out the distance travelled, m, by first rearranging the formula to make m the subject, then substituting F = 15.50.

13.The formula for the area of a trapezium is A = (a + b)h / 2, where a and b are the parallel side lengths and h is the height. Make h the subject of the formula.

14.f(x) = 2x + 1. Work out the value of x for which f⁻¹(x) = 5.

15.Priya has a budget of £50 for a school trip. The coach costs £14 and each student ticket costs £4. Using the inequality 14 + 4s ≤ 50, work out the greatest number of student tickets, s, she can buy.