Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A straight line passes through the points (1, 20) and (5, 8). Work out the gradient of the line.

2.A shop sells fruit juice concentrate that must be diluted with water in the ratio 2 : 5 (concentrate : water) to make squash. Priya has 8 litres of concentrate. Work out how much water she needs to keep the same ratio.

3.y is inversely proportional to x², and x is positive. When x = 2, y = 45. Construct the equation connecting x and y, then work out the value of x when y = 5.

4.A journey takes 4 hours at an average speed of 60 km/h. The time taken is inversely proportional to the average speed. Work out how long the same journey takes at an average speed of 80 km/h.

5.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.

6.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.

7.An acid solution has a concentration of 20%. The solution contains 40 g of acid, and the rest of the solution is water. Work out the mass of water in the solution.

8.A tangent to a curve at the point where x = 3 passes through the points (1, 4) and (5, 20). Work out the gradient of the tangent at x = 3, and hence the instantaneous rate of change of y with respect to x at that point.

9.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.

10.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?

11.Two numbers A and B are in the ratio 3:5. When 6 is added to B, the ratio of A to the new value of B is 1:2. Work out the value of A.

12.A jug holds 3 litres of a drink that is 60% fruit juice. 1 litre of water is added to the jug. Work out the percentage of the new mixture that is fruit juice.

13.A model car is built at a scale of 1 : 20 compared with the real car. Work out the factor by which the surface area to be painted on the real car is bigger than the surface area of the model.

14.Tap A fills a swimming pool in 6 hours. Tap B pours water twice as fast as tap A. The time taken to fill the pool is inversely proportional to the rate of flow. Work out how long tap B takes to fill the pool.

15.A model railway is built at a scale where the ratio of model length to real length is 1 : 76. Given that a real carriage is 20.6 metres long, work out the length of the model carriage in centimetres, to 1 decimal place.