Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.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.

2.In a fruit squash mix, the ratio of squash to water is 2 : 9. A shop wants to make up the mix using 3.4 litres of squash. Work out how many litres of water are needed.

3.A fruit punch is made from orange juice, pineapple juice and lemonade in the ratio 5:3:2. A jug holds 3.5 litres of punch in total. Work out the volume of pineapple juice needed.

4.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.

5.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.

6.A dog walker's charge, C pounds, for walking a dog for m minutes is shown on a straight-line graph. The line passes through the points (20, 14) and (50, 26). Work out the charge for a 65-minute walk.

7.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.

8.A shop sells rope by the metre. 3 m costs £7.50 and 5 m costs £11.00. Does this data show that the cost is directly proportional to the length of rope bought? Choose the correct verdict and reason.

9.A room is drawn on a plan with a scale of 1 : 200. On the plan the room has an area of 12 cm². Work out the real area of the room, in square metres.

10.The width, the length and the height of a box are in the ratio 3:4:5. The length of the box is 16 cm. Work out the height of the box.

11.Grace's mean mark in her maths tests rises from 70 to 84. Work out the percentage increase in her mean mark.

12.A garden centre has 90 rose bushes in stock. It receives a delivery that increases its stock of rose bushes by 20%. In the same week it sells 150 lavender bushes. Work out the new number of rose bushes, then write it as a fraction of the number of lavender bushes sold, giving your answer in its simplest form.

13.A force of 250 N acts on an area of 0.5 m². Using pressure = force ÷ area, work out the pressure, in pascals.

14.The exchange rate is £1 = 1.28 US dollars. Convert £350 into US dollars.

15.An adult cinema ticket costs £15 and a child ticket costs £9. Write the ratio of the adult price to the child price in its simplest form.