Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.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.

2.Write the ratio 8 : 15 in the form 1 : n.

3.A garden centre has 90 rose bushes in stock. It receives a delivery that increases its stock of rose bushes by 20%. In the same week it sells 150 lavender bushes. Work out the new number of rose bushes, then write it as a fraction of the number of lavender bushes sold, giving your answer in its simplest form.

4.A cyclist rides at a steady speed of 20 mph. Given that 1 mile ≈ 1.6 km, work out the cyclist's speed in km/h.

5.A cyclist rides 19.3 km in 47 minutes. Work out her average speed, in km/h, to 1 decimal place.

6.A coach travels the 54 miles from London to Brighton in 1 hour 30 minutes. Work out the average speed of the coach, in mph.

7.Two mathematically similar logos are printed on a poster. They have areas 20 cm² and 45 cm². Nadia says that the length scale factor from the smaller logo to the larger logo is 45 ÷ 20 = 2.25. Give a reason why Nadia is incorrect, and work out the correct length scale factor.

8.The total cost, in pounds, of manufacturing a batch of components is plotted against the number of components produced. A tangent to this graph at a particular point has gradient 3.60. What does the value 3.60 represent?

9.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.

10.The population of a town, P thousand, is plotted against time, t years, since 2020. A tangent to the graph at t = 6 has gradient 2.5. What does this gradient represent?

11.A charity shop and a school share collection-box money in the ratio 5 : 8. The charity shop receives £47.50. Work out how much the school receives.

12.A statue exerts a downward force of 68.4 N on its base, which has an area of 2.85 m². Work out the pressure that the statue exerts on its base, in N/m².

13.An online shop's total number of orders received is recorded at the end of each day for five consecutive days: Day 1, 1,284 orders; Day 2, 1,509 orders; Day 3, 1,830 orders; Day 4, 2,296 orders; Day 5, 2,510 orders. Work out between which two consecutive days the average rate of increase in orders was greatest.

14.A force of 126 N acts on an area of 3.5 m². Work out the pressure on the area, in N/m².

15.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?