Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A garden centre sells two mathematically similar sacks of grass seed. The amount of lawn a sack can treat is proportional to the volume of seed inside it. The smaller sack is 20 cm tall and treats a lawn of area 30 m². The larger sack is 40 cm tall. A gardener needs to treat a lawn with an area of 500 m² using only the larger sacks. Work out the minimum number of larger sacks needed.

2.Two mathematically similar garden ponds have surface areas of 12 m² and 27 m². The fencing needed to go around the smaller pond costs £96. Assuming the cost of fencing is proportional to the perimeter of the pond, work out the cost of fencing the larger pond.

3.A cleaning solution is made by mixing disinfectant and water in the ratio 1 : 9. Priti wants to make 6 litres of the solution in total. Work out how much disinfectant she needs.

4.A coach journey is 372 miles in total. After a stop, the coach has travelled 217 miles. Write the distance still to travel as a fraction of the total journey. Give your answer in its simplest form.

5.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?

6.In a science lesson Priya has 10 litres of a solution that is 30% salt. She adds water to make a solution that is 20% salt. Work out how many litres of water she adds.

7.To make orange paint, red and yellow paint are mixed in the ratio 6:15. Write the amount of red paint as a fraction of the amount of yellow paint, in its simplest form.

8.Write £3.60 : £2.40 as a ratio in its simplest form.

9.Two quantities y and z are each in direct proportion to x, and are given by y = 3x and z = 7x. Work out the difference between the value of y and the value of z when x = 4.

10.A concrete mix is made from gravel and cement in the ratio 5 : 1 by mass. The mass of cement is c kg and the total mass of the mix is m kg. Write down a formula for m in terms of c.

11.A straight-line graph passes through the origin and the point (4, 10). The line represents y = kx. Write down the ratio x : y in its simplest form.

12.A savings account starts with £500. Each year, 4% interest is added, and then £30 is withdrawn from the account. Which recurrence correctly models the balance, £S_n, after n years, with S_0 = 500?

13.Given that 1 mile ≈ 1.6 km, work out a speed of 55 mph in km/h.

14.Two numbers are in the ratio 3 : 7. Their sum is 60. Work out the positive difference between the two numbers.

15.A vehicle is worth £18000. Its value decreases by 15% each year. Using the recurrence V_{n+1} = 0.85V_n, with V_0 = 18000, find the first whole number of years after which the vehicle's value drops below £10000.