Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A loan of £3000 has interest added at 2% each month, and then a fixed repayment of £200 is made. This is modelled by the recurrence B_{n+1} = 1.02B_n − 200, where B_n is the balance after n months and B_0 = 3000. Work out the balance after 2 months.

2.A sculptor makes two mathematically similar statues. The smaller statue is 20 cm tall and 80 ml of varnish covers its surface. The larger statue is 50 cm tall. Work out how much varnish is needed to cover the surface of the larger statue.

3.Two mathematically similar tins have heights 8 cm and 12 cm. Jayden says that the volume of the larger tin is 1.5 times the volume of the smaller tin. Give a reason why Jayden is incorrect, and work out the correct volume scale factor.

4.An architect builds a scale model of a staircase before construction. The model is mathematically similar to the real staircase, at a scale of 1 : 10. The model covers a floor area of 0.4 m² on the plan. Work out the floor area the real staircase will cover, giving your answer in m².

5.A company had 8000 employees. The number of employees decreased by 5% in the first year, and then increased by 5% in the second year. Work out the number of employees at the end of the second year, to the nearest whole number.

6.Water flows into a tank at a constant rate. After 8 minutes the tank holds 200 litres. Write the ratio of time in minutes to volume in litres, in its simplest form.

7.Two mathematically similar picture frames have perimeters 30 cm and 45 cm. The area of the smaller frame is 40 cm². Work out the area of the larger frame.

8.A runner's speed is 8 m/s. Given that there are 3600 seconds in an hour and 1000 metres in a kilometre, work out the runner's speed in km/h.

9.A machine is bought for £8500. Its value depreciates by 6% each year. Work out the value of the machine after 3 years, to the nearest pound.

10.A gym charges members a joining fee plus a fixed amount per month. The total amount paid, C pounds, is shown on a straight-line graph against the number of months, m. The line passes through the points (3, 130) and (7, 210). Work out the total amount a member will have paid after 12 months.

11.It takes 2 identical pumps 10 hours to empty a flooded basement. Working at the same rate, work out how many hours 5 of these pumps would take to empty the same basement.

12.A shop sells rope by the metre. 3 m costs £7.50 and 5 m costs £11.00. Does this data show that the cost is directly proportional to the length of rope bought? Choose the correct verdict and reason.

13.A furniture designer makes a scale model of a wardrobe using a scale of 1 : 8. The real wardrobe is 2.4 m tall and 1.2 m wide. Work out the perimeter of the front face of the model wardrobe, in centimetres.

14.In a choir of 30 singers, 40% are altos and the rest are sopranos. Write the number of sopranos as a fraction of the number of altos. Give your answer in its simplest form.

15.Priya invests £750 in a savings account that pays simple interest. After 3 years, the account contains £840. Work out the annual rate of simple interest.