Geometry and measures worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A student is asked to rearrange the cosine rule a² = b² + c² − 2bc cos A to make cos A the subject. They write: cos A = (a² − b² − c²) / (2bc). Is the student's rearrangement correct?

2.An isosceles trapezium has exactly one pair of parallel sides, and its two non-parallel sides are equal in length. How many lines of symmetry does it have?

3.m is the column vector with top number 3 and bottom number −4. Which of these column vectors is a scalar multiple of m?

4.In triangle ABC the angle at C is 90° and the hypotenuse AB is 12 cm. H is the point on AB for which CH is perpendicular to AB, and AH = 3 cm. Work out the length of AC.

5.A sector of a circle has radius 8 cm and takes up three-quarters of the full circle. Work out the perimeter of the sector, in terms of π.

6.A ramp's sloped surface crosses two horizontal parallel rails. At the top rail, the angle between the ramp and the rail on the right of the ramp is (3x + 10)°. At the bottom rail, the angle between the ramp and the rail on the left of the ramp is (5x − 30)°. Work out the value of x.

7.A quadrilateral has vertices A(1, 1), B(5, 1), C(6, 4) and D(2, 4). By comparing the y-coordinates of A, B and of D, C, write down whether the sides AB and DC are parallel, and give a reason for your answer.

8.Shape S has an area of 48 cm². It is enlarged by a scale factor of 1/4 to give shape T. Work out the area of shape T.

9.Which of these correctly compares a 'line' with a 'line segment'?

10.A circle has diameter 10 cm. Using π = 3.14, work out the circumference of the circle.

11.ABCD is a convex quadrilateral field with diagonal AC = 20 m. In triangle ABC, AB = 14 m and angle BAC = 35°. In triangle ACD, AD = 16 m and angle DAC = 40°. Work out the total area of the field. Give your answer to 1 decimal place.

12.In cyclic quadrilateral ABCD, with vertices in that order around the circle, the diagonal BD is drawn. In triangle ABD, angle ABD = 35° and angle ADB = 65°. Side DC is extended beyond C to a point E. Work out the size of angle BCE.

13.Point P is translated by the vector (5, −2), and the image is then rotated 90° clockwise about the origin to give the point (3, 9). Work out the coordinates of P.

14.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.

15.A surveyor marks two fixed points A and B, with position vectors OA = a and OB = b (in km) from a base station O. A relay mast P is to be placed on the line AB such that AP : PB = 3 : 2. Express the vector OP in terms of a and b.