Ratio, proportion and rates of change worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.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.

2.A candle burns down at a constant rate. Its height, h cm, is plotted against time, t minutes, on a straight-line graph. The gradient of the line is −0.3. Which statement correctly describes what the gradient means?

3.A footpath is drawn 3 cm long on a map with a scale of 1 : 50 000. Work out the real length of the footpath, in metres.

4.The cost, in pounds, of hiring a minibus is modelled against the number of passengers booked. A tangent to the cost graph at 20 passengers passes through the points (16, 184) and (24, 216). Work out the instantaneous rate at which the cost increases with each extra passenger, at 20 passengers.

5.Two mathematically similar cylinders have heights in the ratio 3 : 4. Write the ratio of their volumes in its simplest form.

6.In a choir of 30 singers, 40% are altos and the rest are sopranos. Write the number of sopranos as a fraction of the number of altos. Give your answer in its simplest form.

7.A 1.5 kg bag of pasta costs £2.85 and a 2.4 kg bag of the same pasta costs £4.32. Work out which bag gives better value for money.

8.Write £3.60 : £2.40 as a ratio in its simplest form.

9.A water butt is being filled from a hosepipe at a constant rate while a small leak drains water out at a constant rate, giving a constant net rate of change. The volume of water in the butt, V litres, is shown on a straight-line graph against time, t minutes. The line passes through the points (5, 20) and (15, 60). The butt is empty at t = 0. Work out how many minutes it takes to reach a volume of 100 litres.

10.A company had 8000 employees. The number of employees decreased by 5% in the first year, and then increased by 5% in the second year. Work out the number of employees at the end of the second year, to the nearest whole number.

11.A hiker's distance from the start of the trail, in kilometres, is plotted against time, in minutes, since she set off. At t = 45 minutes she stops to rest, so her distance from the start is neither increasing nor decreasing at that instant. Which statement about the tangent to the distance–time graph at t = 45 minutes is correct?

12.The ratio of y to x is always 3 : 4. Write down which equation could represent this relationship.

13.A shop buys a bike for £150 and sells it, making a profit of £45. Write the selling price as a fraction of the cost price, giving your answer in its simplest form.

14.A cyclist travels d kilometres in t hours. Write down an expression, in terms of d and t, for the cyclist's average speed in km/h.

15.A metal alloy is made from copper and tin in the ratio 9:1. Write the mass of tin as a fraction of the mass of copper, in its simplest form.