Congruence and similarity: lengths, areas and volumes worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.Two cylindrical storage tins are geometrically similar. The smaller tin has height 4 cm and the larger tin has height 6 cm. Work out the ratio of the surface area of the smaller tin to the surface area of the larger tin, giving your answer in the form a : b in its simplest form.

2.A shop sells a scale model of a van. The model and the real van are similar shapes, with lengths in the ratio 1 : 24. The model is 18.5 cm long. Work out the length of the real van, giving your answer in metres.

3.Two similar triangular tiles have lengths in the ratio 3 : 5. The longest side of the smaller tile is 9 cm. Work out the length of the longest side of the larger tile.

4.In triangle ABC and triangle DEF, AB = DE, AC = DF, and the angle at A equals the angle at D. Write down the congruence condition that proves the two triangles are congruent.

5.Triangle ABC and triangle DEF are similar. The area of triangle ABC is 36 cm² and the area of triangle DEF is 100 cm². Work out the ratio of the lengths of triangle ABC to the lengths of triangle DEF, in its simplest form.

6.Two similar signs have lengths in the ratio 9 : 4. The larger sign has a side of length 14.4 cm. Work out the length of the corresponding side of the smaller sign.

7.Two traffic cones are geometrically similar. The smaller cone has height 6 m and the larger cone has height 9 m. Work out the ratio of the volume of the smaller cone to the volume of the larger cone, giving your answer in the form a : b in its simplest form.

8.Two similar triangles have lengths in the ratio 5 : 8. A side of the smaller triangle is 6.5 cm. Work out the length of the corresponding side of the larger triangle.

9.Two triangles are similar. The sides of the first triangle are 3 cm, 4 cm and 5 cm. The shortest side of the second triangle is 9 cm. Work out the scale factor from the first triangle to the second.

10.Two bronze statues are geometrically similar and made from the same solid bronze. Their heights are 30 cm and 45 cm. The smaller statue has a mass of 12 kg. Work out the mass of the larger statue, in kg.

11.Two similar ponds have perimeters in the ratio 4 : 11. The perimeter of the larger pond is 88 m. Work out the perimeter of the smaller pond.

12.Two similar triangles have lengths in the ratio 2 : 5. The sides of the smaller triangle are 4 cm, 6 cm and 8 cm. Work out the length of the longest side of the larger triangle.

13.A drinks company sells a novelty giant bottle that is geometrically similar to its standard 500 ml bottle, scaled up by a length factor of 1.5. Work out the capacity of the giant bottle, in ml.

14.A photocopier enlarges a document so that every length is multiplied by the same scale factor. A line on the original document is 3.2 cm long, and the same line measures 11.2 cm on the enlarged copy. A second line on the original document is 2.5 cm long. Work out the length of the second line on the enlarged copy, giving your answer to 2 decimal places.

15.Two similar bottles have heights in the ratio 1 : 2. Write down the ratio of their volumes.