Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.y is directly proportional to x. When x = 4, y = 10. Work out the value of y when x = 6.

2.A scale drawing of a car park has a scale of 1 : 300. On the drawing, the car park has an area of 15 cm². Work out the real area of the car park, in square metres.

3.y is directly proportional to √x. When x = 25, y = 20. Construct the equation connecting x and y, then work out the value of x when y = 32.

4.Two mathematically similar water bottles have a volume scale factor of 8 from the smaller bottle to the larger bottle. Work out the surface area scale factor from the smaller bottle to the larger bottle.

5.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.

6.A metal has a density of 7.8 g/cm³. Work out the density of the metal in kg/m³.

7.x × y is used to test whether two quantities are in inverse proportion. For the pairs x = 4, y = 15 and x = 6, y = 10, which statement is correct?

8.The number of tickets a group can afford is inversely proportional to the price per ticket. At £4 per ticket, the group can afford 12 tickets. Work out how many tickets the group can afford at £6 per ticket.

9.6 identical printers can print a batch of exam papers in 40 minutes, all working at the same rate. Working at the same rate, work out how many minutes 4 of these printers would take to print the same batch.

10.For the pairs x = 6, y = 15 and x = 10, y = 25, which statement is correct?

11.A greenhouse's temperature, in °C, is recorded every hour during the day: 09:00, 15.0; 10:00, 18.4; 11:00, 20.1; 12:00, 19.8; 13:00, 17.2. Work out between which two consecutive readings the instantaneous rate of change of the temperature is most likely to have been zero.

12.A firework rocket's height above the ground, in metres, t seconds after launch, is modelled by h = 30t − 5t². Use a chord between t = 1 second and t = 3 seconds to estimate the instantaneous rate of change of the height at t = 2 seconds, in m/s.

13.The number of subscribers to a streaming app, in thousands, is plotted against time, in months since launch. A tangent to the graph at t = 6 months has gradient 4.8. A tangent at t = 18 months has gradient 1.1. A manager claims the app is growing faster at 18 months than it was at 6 months. Work out how the growth rate has changed, and decide whether the manager is correct.

14.A metal sample has a mass of 342.6 g and a volume of 18 cm³. Work out the density of the sample, in g/cm³, to 1 decimal place.

15.A tangent to a distance–time graph, with distance in kilometres and time in minutes, has gradient 0.78 kilometres per minute at a particular point. Work out the instantaneous rate of change of distance with time, in kilometres per hour.