Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.Before a charity campaign, donations were £6400 per month. Donations grew by 8% in the first year after the campaign, and then fell by 3% in the second year as interest faded. Work out the amount donated per month at the end of the second year, to the nearest pound.

2.The price of a cycling helmet rises from £80 to £116. Work out the percentage increase.

3.A photo is enlarged so that its new width is 1.4 times its original width. Write the multiplier that would scale the new width back down to the original width, as a fraction in its simplest form.

4.Two mathematically similar picture frames have perimeters 30 cm and 45 cm. The area of the smaller frame is 40 cm². Work out the area of the larger frame.

5.Two quantities, P and Q, are in inverse proportion. A graph is drawn with P on the vertical axis and Q on the horizontal axis. Write down which description fits the shape of this graph.

6.Two cars travel at constant speeds. Car A travels 150 km in 3 hours. Car B travels 180 km in 4 hours. Which car is faster, and what is its speed?

7.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.

8.The depth of water in a tank, in cm, is recorded every 10 seconds: at t = 10, depth = 32; at t = 20, depth = 45; at t = 30, depth = 56. Use the most appropriate chord from these readings to estimate the instantaneous rate of change of depth at t = 20.

9.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.

10.A cyclist rides 30 km in 1 hour 30 minutes. Work out the average speed of the cyclist in km/h.

11.A post 2 metres tall casts a shadow 3 metres long. At the same time a nearby tree casts a shadow 12 metres long. Work out the height of the tree.

12.A water tank is a cuboid measuring 30 cm × 20 cm × 10 cm. The tank is full of water. Work out how many litres of water it holds.

13.A shop's daily profit, in pounds, is plotted against the price charged for an item, in pounds. A tangent to the profit graph at a price of £15 passes through the points (12, 540) and (18, 480). Work out the instantaneous rate of change of profit with respect to price at £15, and state whether profit is increasing or decreasing there.

14.A gym charges members a joining fee plus a fixed amount per month. The total amount paid, C pounds, is shown on a straight-line graph against the number of months, m. The line passes through the points (3, 130) and (7, 210). Work out the total amount a member will have paid after 12 months.

15.The tangent to a curve at the point where x = 4 has equation y = 3x − 2. Work out the instantaneous rate of change of y with respect to x at x = 4.