Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A loan of £3000 has interest added at 2% each month, and then a fixed repayment of £200 is made. This is modelled by the recurrence B_{n+1} = 1.02B_n − 200, where B_n is the balance after n months and B_0 = 3000. Work out the balance after 2 months.

2.Two straight-line graphs represent y = 2x and y = 5x. For the same value of x, where x ≠ 0, write down the ratio of the y-value on the first graph to the y-value on the second graph, in its simplest form.

3.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.

4.A straight-line graph passes through the origin and the point (4, 10). The line represents y = kx. Write down the ratio x : y in its simplest form.

5.Two mathematically similar water bottles have a volume scale factor of 8 from the smaller bottle to the larger bottle. Work out the surface area scale factor from the smaller bottle to the larger bottle.

6.The density of a type of solid plastic is 0.9 g/cm³. Work out the mass of 0.5 m³ of the plastic, in kilograms.

7.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.

8.A textbook is reduced from £60 to £45. Work out the percentage reduction.

9.The cost of manufacturing a spherical container is proportional to the cube of its radius. A container of radius 3 cm costs £54 to manufacture. Construct the equation connecting cost C and radius r, then work out the cost of a container of radius 5 cm.

10.Paint costs £14.40 for every 20 m² of wall it covers. Assuming the same rate, work out the cost of the paint needed to cover 56 m² of wall.

11.A car is bought for £12000. Its value falls by 15% in the first year and by 10% in each year after that. Work out the value of the car 3 years after it was bought.

12.A river 120 km long is drawn as a line 6 cm long on a map. Work out the scale of the map.

13.6 identical taps fill a paddling pool in 20 minutes. Each tap fills at the same steady rate. Work out how long 3 of these taps would take to fill the same pool.

14.Leah puts £4000 into a savings account paying 3% compound interest each year. At the end of 2 years she takes out all of the money and spends £1500 of it on a laptop. Work out how much of the money she has left.

15.In a bag, the ratio of green counters to yellow counters is 3 : 8. There are 24 yellow counters. A student says, 'There must be 9 green counters.' Is the student correct? Choose the correct verdict and reason.