Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A scale model of a bridge is built at a scale of 1 : 120. The real bridge is 84 m long. Work out the length of the model, in centimetres.

2.A scale drawing of a garden uses a scale of 1 : 20. Write down a formula for the real length, L metres, in terms of the length on the drawing, d centimetres, given that 1 metre = 100 centimetres.

3.A crate exerts a force of 84 N on the floor through a base with an area of 2.4 m². Work out the pressure on the floor, in N/m².

4.Two broadband providers show their monthly cost on straight-line graphs, with the cost in pounds on the vertical axis and the data used in gigabytes on the horizontal axis. Provider X's line passes through (0, 15) and (100, 35). Provider Y's line passes through (0, 5) and (100, 45). Work out which provider is cheaper for a customer who uses 40 gigabytes in a month.

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 car is bought for £9000. Its value decreases by 8% each year. Work out its value after 2 years.

7.A company's turnover this year is £180,000. Last year's turnover was £120,000. Write down this year's turnover as a percentage of last year's turnover.

8.Two mathematically similar polygons have perimeters in the ratio 2 : 5. Write the ratio of their areas in its simplest form.

9.A shop sells ribbon by the metre. 2 m costs £3.00, 4 m costs £6.00, and 7 m costs £10.50. Does this data show that the cost is directly proportional to the length of ribbon bought? Choose the correct verdict and reason.

10.Write 45 minutes : 2 hours as a ratio in its simplest form.

11.The value of a rare coin increases by 12% each year. The coin is currently worth £270. Work out the value of the coin after 2 years, giving your answer to the nearest penny.

12.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.

13.A process is modelled by the recurrence P_{n+1} = 0.6P_n + 40. As n increases, P_n approaches a long-run value L, which satisfies L = 0.6L + 40. Solve this equation to find L.

14.A shop's takings were £4500 in May. In June the takings fell by £900. Write the June takings as a fraction of the May takings, in its simplest form.

15.A shade of paint is made by mixing blue paint and white paint. To make 5 litres of the shade, 2 litres of blue paint is used and the rest is white paint. Write the ratio of blue paint to white paint in its simplest form.