GCSE - Mathematics

Ratio, Proportion and Compound Measures

1. The luggage allowance per person on a North American airline is three pieces of
luggage.
Each piece of luggage may weigh up to 70 pounds.
Joanna’s luggage weighs 132 pounds.

(a) What percentage of the luggage allowance is this?

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Joanna has packed her luggage into a light bag and two heavier cases.
The weights of these three are in the ratio 2:4:5

(b) How heavy are each of her two cases?

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2. Three friends agree to buy a hi-fi set for £792. Lauren contributes £110, Jack
contributes £250 and Chloe contributes the rest. Three years later they sell the hi-fi
for £352. They agree to divide the money in the ratio in which they contributed.

How much does Chloe receive?

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GCSE - Mathematics
3. William is a cleaner at an hotel. Normally he cleans 8 bedrooms in a day and his
pay is £34. On one day Emma helps William so that William only cleans 5
bedrooms. William agrees to divide his pay between them in the ratio of the
number of bedrooms each has cleaned.

How much does Emma receive?

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4. Vicky spends £60 I total on buying a personal CD player and a CD.

The ratio of the cost of the CD player to the cost of the CD is in the ratio 4:1
Find how much Vicky pays for the CD player.

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5. In a class of 20 students there are four times as many women as there are men.
How many women are there in the class?

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GCSE - Mathematics
6. The shopkeepers in the town decorate the street with 400 lights, coloured red and
yellow.
The ratio of the number of red lights to yellow lights is 5:3.

(a) How many red lights are there?

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Another street has 360 lights, 150 of which are green and the rest are blue.

(b) Find the ratio of green lights to blue lights.

Express this ratio in its simplest form.

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7. Two melons cost £2.34.

How much will three melons cost?

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8. Shampoo is sold in two sizes.

The family size costs £3.48 and contains 270ml.
The regular size costs £1.99 and contains 160ml.
Which size is better value for money?
You must show all your working.

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GCSE - Mathematics

9. In Italy, a handbag is on sale at 148 750 lira.

The exchange rate is 2 840 lira to £1.
Find the cost of the handbag in £’s.

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10. Tins of Alderman’s cocoa are sold in two sizes.

ALDERMAN’S COCOA ALDERMAN’S COCOA

(A perfect cup every time) (A perfect cup every time)

Economy size Large size

1.3 kg 475 g

£4.05 £1.47

Which size is better value for money?

You must show all your working.

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GCSE - Mathematics
11. Alan wants to buy some toothpaste. He sees two advertisements for the same type
of toothpaste. This toothpaste is usually sold at £1.60 for a 100ml tube.

Cashchem advertises tubes that contain an extra 25% free.

Superchem advertises ‘Buy one, and get a second one at half price’.
Which offer gives Alan the best value for money?
You must show all your working.

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12. Joe insures his house for £90 000 and its contents for £7 000.

The premiums for the insurance are

House: 23p per annum for every £100 of cover;

Contents: £1.30 per annum for every £100 of cover;

What is the total cost of Joe’s insurance?

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13. Alice buys gold braid to decorate her dress.

She buys a length of 2.89 metres. The shop charges Alice £7.24 per metre for the
exact length she buys.

How much does Alice pay for the gold braid?

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GCSE - Mathematics
14. Packets of Henson’s tea are sold in two sizes.

Large size 500g £2.45

Small size 250g £1.25

Which size is better value for money?

You must show all your working.

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15. Rachel buys 8 kilograms of potatoes for £2.56.

How much does William pay for 11 kilograms of potatoes sold at the same price per
kilogram?

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16. Jeremy and Caroline find the following list of items for a buffet lunch for 20 people.

40 mushroom tartlets
30 mini pizzas
20 strawberry meringues
5 one litre containers of orange juice

Jeremy and Caroline are organising a buffet lunch for 110 people.
Rewrite the list for a buffet lunch for these 110 people.

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Answer mushroom tartlets…………………………..

mini pizzas…………………………..

strawberry meringues…………………………..

one litre containers of orange juice…………………………..

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GCSE - Mathematics

17. Asco bath lotion is sold in two sizes.

The large size contains 400 ml and costs £1.
The family size contains 1000 ml and costs £2.60.

Which size is better value for money. You must show all your working.

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18. Scooters can be hired at the cost of £21 per day plus 5.3 pence per mile.
Mohamed hires a scooter for three days and rides 136 miles.
Find the total cost of hiring the scooter.

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19. A plane flies from Paris to Guadeloupe, a distance of 4 200 miles.

The plane has an average speed of 500 miles per hour.
How long does the plane take for the journey?
Give your answer in hours and minutes.

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GCSE - Mathematics
20. A train travels 150 miles in 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Find the average speed of the train in miles per hour.

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21. Charlie has estimated his walking speed to be three kilometres per hour.
How far does he walk in two hours and twenty minutes?

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22. Shirley buys 5.1 kg of nails for £3.06.

How much would she pay for 3.2 kg of the same nails?

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23. Angus drove 134 miles at an average speed of 49 mph.

Find the time the journey took.
Give your answer in hours and minutes.

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GCSE - Mathematics
Answers

1. (a) 62.9 or 63% (b) 48 kg, 60kg

2. £192
3. £12.75
4. £48
5. 16 women
6. (a) 250 (b) 5:7
7. £3.51
8. 348÷27=12.9p for 10ml, 199÷16=12.4p for 10ml, so Regular is the cheaper
9. £52.38
10. 405÷1300=0.312p/g, 147÷475=0.309p/g, so Large
11. Cashchem is 125ml for 160, or 1.28p/ml , Superchem is 200ml for 240p, or 1.2p/ml, so
Superchem is the better value.
12. £298
13. £20.92
14. Large is £2.45 for 500g, and Small would be £2.50 for 500g, so Large.
15. £3.52
16. mushroom tartlets 220, mini pizzas165, strawberry meringues110, 28 one-litre
containers of orange juice
17. Large 25p for 100ml, Family is 26p for 100ml, so Large
18. £70.21
19. I get 84 hours, which I think suggests the question is wrong (4200 miles?)
20. 60 miles per hour
21. 7 kilometres
22. £1.92
23. 2.73… hours = 2 hours 44 minutes
24. (a) 64 kilometres per hour (b) 12 km per hour
25. (a) 88.45, 88.55 seconds (b) 1.130, 1.129 metres per second

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