Maths is back in the headlines again, as the prime minister sets out further details of his plan to ensure that all pupils in England study maths until the age of 18.
Rishi Sunak has hit out at what he describes as the UK’s “anti-maths mindset” in a speech on Monday.
He has pledged to introduce a new qualification for primary school maths teachers, and to increase the number of Maths Hubs.
Under current rules, maths education ends with GCSE examinations at age 16, and many people choose not to study the subject further.
School exams are a distant memory for many of us, but could you still pass your GCSE maths? Answer the 10 questions below to test your knowledge.
Maths quiz
Question 1
Dylan needs to get part of his house painted.
He has a budget of £200. He needs to buy 3 tins of paint, each costing £16.75. He employs a painter who is paid £12.30 per hour.
How many full hours will the painter have to complete the work without going over Dylan’s budget?
Question 2
Guttering costs £4.30 per metre. Martin bought 11 metres of guttering and 7 metres of downpipe. He paid £66.55 in total.
How much does downpipe cost per metre?
Question 3
A tracksuit normally cost £75. In a sale, the price was reduced by 15 per cent.
Calculate the sale price of the tracksuit.
Question 4
A girl collects the following data in metres in a science experiment:
0.32, 0.51, 0.43, 0.64, 0.39, 0.49, 0.62, 0.54, 0.52, 0.36, 0.54, 0.68, 0.48, 0.52, 0.60.
She states: “The median is the one in the middle so my median is 0.54m.”
Explain why she is not correct.
Question 5
The attendance for some classes is shown below.
In Class A, 17 pupils out of 20 were present. In Class B, 21 pupils out of 24 were present. In Class C, 19 pupils out of 22 were present.
Which class had the highest percentage of attendance?
Question 6
A number, expressed as a product of its prime factors, is 2² × 3 × 5².
What is the number?
Question 7
7. Jane completes a 5km race in 24 minutes.
Calculate her average speed in km/hr.
Question 8
8. Last year a company made a profit of £152,650. This year the company made a profit of £104,760.
Work out the percentage decrease in the company’s profit. Give your answer to 1 decimal place.
Question 9
James can throw a javelin 49 metres. His target is to throw it 4 per cent further each year.
If he stays on target, how many years will it be before he can throw the javelin 55 metres?
Question 10
Calculate the surface area of a sphere with a diameter of 12cm.
Keep reading for the answers and to see how you scored.
Quiz answers
- 12 hours
- £2.75
- £63.75
- The data is not in order
- Class B
- 300
- 12.5km/hr
- 31.4
- 3
- 452.39cm²
