Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.The cost, in pounds, of hiring a minibus is modelled against the number of passengers booked. A tangent to the cost graph at 20 passengers passes through the points (16, 184) and (24, 216). Work out the instantaneous rate at which the cost increases with each extra passenger, at 20 passengers.

2.A photo is enlarged so that its new width is 1.4 times its original width. Write the multiplier that would scale the new width back down to the original width, as a fraction in its simplest form.

3.Two mathematically similar jugs have heights 8 cm and 12 cm. The smaller jug holds 200 ml when it is full. Work out how much the larger jug holds when it is full.

4.A lorry is carrying a load of mass m tonnes. Given that 1 tonne = 1000 kg, write down an expression for the mass of the load in kilograms.

5.The concentration of a pollutant in a lake, in arbitrary units, follows the recurrence C_{n+1} = 0.75C_n + 40, with C_0 = 500: each week, 25% of the pollutant breaks down naturally, and then a further 40 units enter the lake from run-off. An ecologist classifies the lake as safe once C_n first drops below 300. Find the first whole number of weeks after which the lake is safe.

6.A force of 250 N acts on an area of 0.5 m². Using pressure = force ÷ area, work out the pressure, in pascals.

7.A machine fills bottles at a constant rate. It fills 18 bottles in 3 minutes. Working at the same rate, work out how many bottles the machine fills in 8 minutes.

8.A map has a scale of 1 : 40 000. A cycle path measures 7.5 cm on the map. Work out the real length of the cycle path, in kilometres.

9.Two cars travel at constant speeds. Car A travels 150 km in 3 hours. Car B travels 180 km in 4 hours. Which car is faster, and what is its speed?

10.A savings account pays 3.5% compound interest each year. Bilal invests £1200. Work out how much interest, in total, he earns after 2 years, to the nearest penny.

11.A scale drawing of a park has a scale of 1 : 2500. On the drawing, the distance between the entrance and the lake is 4.4 cm. A jogger runs from the entrance to the lake and then back to the entrance. Work out the total distance the jogger runs, in kilometres.

12.A stall sells bottles of juice. Two bottles cost £3.00, five bottles cost £7.50 and eight bottles cost £12.00. The cost, C pounds, is in a fixed ratio to the number of bottles, n. Write down a formula for C in terms of n.

13.A shop's daily profit, in pounds, is plotted against the price charged for an item, in pounds. A tangent to the profit graph at a price of £15 passes through the points (12, 540) and (18, 480). Work out the instantaneous rate of change of profit with respect to price at £15, and state whether profit is increasing or decreasing there.

14.Before a charity campaign, donations were £6400 per month. Donations grew by 8% in the first year after the campaign, and then fell by 3% in the second year as interest faded. Work out the amount donated per month at the end of the second year, to the nearest pound.

15.Paint costs £14.40 for every 20 m² of wall it covers. Assuming the same rate, work out the cost of the paint needed to cover 56 m² of wall.