Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A necklace is made using gold beads and silver beads in the ratio 7:3. There are 40 more gold beads than silver beads. Work out the total number of beads in the necklace.

2.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.

3.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.

4.An Ordnance Survey map has a scale of 1 : 50 000. A cycle route measures 9.4 cm on the map. Work out the real length of the route, in kilometres.

5.The rent on a flat increases by 10% one year and by a further 10% the following year. Work out the overall percentage increase over the two years.

6.In a fruit drink, 3/8 of the total volume is orange juice and the rest is apple juice. Write down the ratio of orange juice to apple juice, in its simplest form.

7.A printer's ink cartridge level, I millilitres, is plotted against the number of pages printed, p, and the points lie on a straight line. The line passes through (0, 24) and (300, 9). The printer has now printed 300 pages. Work out how many more pages it can print before the cartridge is empty.

8.A road sign 3 m tall casts a shadow 5 m long. At the same time, a nearby lamppost casts a shadow 10 m long. Work out the height of the lamppost.

9.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.

10.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.

11.After a 20% discount, a jacket costs £48. Work out the original price of the jacket.

12.A coach travels the 54 miles from London to Brighton in 1 hour 30 minutes. Work out the average speed of the coach, in mph.

13.A factory machine produces bottles at a constant rate. In 45 minutes it produces 810 bottles. The factory needs 2,160 bottles for an order. Working at the same rate, work out how many minutes it will take to produce the order.

14.A cyclist travels 18 km in 45 minutes. Work out the average speed, in km/h.

15.The height of a candle, in cm, is measured as it burns: t = 0 min, height = 20.0; t = 3 min, height = 18.7; t = 5 min, height = 17.5; t = 6 min, height = 16.6; t = 7 min, height = 15.4; t = 9 min, height = 13.4. Which pair of readings gives the best estimate of the instantaneous rate of change of the height at t = 6 minutes, and why?