Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A map has a scale of 1 : 100 000. Two railway stations are 8 km apart in real life. Work out the distance between the stations on the map, in centimetres.

2.A coach journey of 240 km takes 3 hours. For this fixed distance the average speed needed is inversely proportional to the time taken. Work out the average speed needed to complete the same journey in 2 hours.

3.A map's scale is given as '1 cm represents 2 km'. Write this scale in the form 1 : n.

4.A sculptor makes two mathematically similar statues. The smaller statue is 20 cm tall and 80 ml of varnish covers its surface. The larger statue is 50 cm tall. Work out how much varnish is needed to cover the surface of the larger statue.

5.A shop's number of online orders is proportional to its number of in-store orders. Last month there were 45 in-store orders and 180 online orders. Write the ratio of online orders to in-store orders, in its simplest form.

6.A cordial drink is made by mixing cordial concentrate and water in the ratio 1 : 6. Freya says that a 700 ml jug of this drink contains 100 ml of concentrate. Is she correct? Give a reason for your answer.

7.The ratio of Josh's savings to Mia's savings is 4:7. Mia has £39 more than Josh. Work out Josh's savings.

8.Two mathematically similar triangular flags have areas in the ratio 4 : 25. The height of the smaller flag is 6 cm. Work out the height of the larger flag.

9.A straight-line graph shows the number of pages printed, p, plotted against the time in minutes, t, since a printer started a print job. The line passes through the points (2, 30) and (5, 90). Work out the gradient of the line.

10.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.

11.A company's turnover was £128 000 in 2023 and £176 000 in 2024. Work out the multiplier that changes the 2023 turnover into the 2024 turnover.

12.In a box of pens, 3/7 of the pens are blue and the rest are black. Write down the ratio of the number of blue pens to the number of black pens, in its simplest form.

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

14.Two mathematically similar cylinders have volumes 64 cm³ and 216 cm³. Work out the ratio of the height of the smaller cylinder to the height of the larger cylinder, in simplest form.

15.Triangle ABC is mathematically similar to triangle PQR, with AB corresponding to PQ and BC corresponding to QR. AB = 6 cm, BC = 8 cm and PQ = 12 cm. Work out the length of QR.