Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.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.

2.A baker uses 450 g of flour and 300 g of butter in a batch of pastry. Write the mass of butter as a fraction of the total mass of flour and butter, in its simplest form.

3.A printer prints at a constant rate. The time taken to print a batch of forms is inversely proportional to the printer's speed, in pages per minute. Printing at 20 pages per minute takes 15 minutes. Work out how long the same batch takes to print at 25 pages per minute. Give your answer in minutes.

4.The volume of fuel remaining in a storage tank, in thousands of litres, is plotted against time, in hours, since a leak was detected. A tangent to the graph at t = 2 hours has gradient −8.75 thousand litres per hour. A tangent at t = 8 hours has gradient −3.5 thousand litres per hour. Work out by what factor the instantaneous rate of change is greater in size at t = 2 hours than at t = 8 hours.

5.The rent on a flat increases by 10% one year and by a further 10% the following year. Work out the overall percentage increase over the two years.

6.Two investors put money into a business in the ratio 3:5. The first investor puts in £1,200. Work out the total amount invested by both investors.

7.A metal cylinder has a mass of 356.5 g and a volume of 47 cm³. Work out the density of the cylinder, in g/cm³, to 1 decimal place.

8.In a mix of mortar the ratio of the mass of sand to the mass of cement is 5 : 2. Write the mass of cement as a fraction of the total mass of the mix.

9.In one batch of shortbread, a bakery uses 240 g of butter and 160 g of sugar. Another batch, made in the same ratio, uses 90 g of sugar. Work out how much butter is needed for the second batch.

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

11.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.

12.Write 2 m : 150 cm : 50 cm as a ratio of whole numbers in its simplest form.

13.A population of fish in a lake is modelled by the recurrence P_{n+1} = 1.1P_n − 30, where P_n is the population after n years, 30 fish are removed by fishing each year, and P_0 = 400. After how many complete years does the population first exceed 460?

14.A cyclist's distance travelled, in metres, is recorded against time, in seconds. From t = 3 to t = 8 the distance increases from 12 m to 32 m. A tangent to the distance–time graph at t = 6 has gradient 3. Work out the average speed of the cyclist over the interval from t = 3 to t = 8.

15.A sprinter's distance from the start line, in metres, is plotted against time, in seconds. A tangent to the graph at t = 2 seconds has gradient 6. A tangent at t = 8 seconds has gradient 9.5. Which statement correctly compares the sprinter's speed at these two times?