Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.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?

2.A fixed job of fitting a solar array is shared between installers, and the time taken is inversely proportional to the number of installers working on it at once. With 4 installers the job takes 18 hours. Construct the equation connecting time T and number of installers n, then work out how long it would take with 6 installers.

3.In a fruit bowl, the number of bananas is 3/4 of the number of apples. There are 16 apples in the bowl. Write the number of apples as a fraction of the number of bananas. Give your answer in its simplest form.

4.An architect builds a scale model of a staircase before construction. The model is mathematically similar to the real staircase, at a scale of 1 : 10. The model covers a floor area of 0.4 m² on the plan. Work out the floor area the real staircase will cover, giving your answer in m².

5.A cyclist rides at an average speed of 24 km/h for 1 hour 15 minutes. Work out the distance travelled, in km.

6.A charity receives £360 in donations in January and £480 in donations in February. Write the amount received in January as a fraction of the amount received in February, giving your answer in its simplest form.

7.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.

8.A rectangular room is drawn on a plan with a scale of 1 : 50. On the plan, the room measures 8 cm by 6 cm. Work out the real area of the room, in square metres.

9.Order these three values from smallest to largest: 3/8, 0.43, 41%.

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

11.An oven is preheating. Its temperature, T °C, is plotted against time, t minutes, on a straight-line graph. The line passes through the points (2, 60) and (6, 140). Work out the gradient of the line.

12.It takes 8 painters 6 days to paint a fence. Working at the same rate, work out how many days 4 painters would take to paint the same fence.

13.Write 250 g : 2 kg as a ratio in its simplest form.

14.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.

15.A car is bought for £17,500. Its value decreases by 12% in the first year, and by a further 10% of its reduced value in the second year. Work out the value of the car at the end of the second year, giving your answer to the nearest pound.