Speed Distance Time These questions are very popular on GCSE maths papers, particularly foundation level, as they are 'functional' or 'real life.' Most of the problems deal with train or car journeys and might involve a stop half way through - usually something along the lines of a trip to see a friend, lunch and then a drive home. Typical questions involve working out the … [Read more...]

Equation of a line These questions tend to be fairly popular - and are usually presented either as a calculation, or by plotting on a graph yourself. You might also be asked to find some information by reading the graph, or calculate some additional coordinates. To describe a straight line you only need to know two things - How steep it is - the 'gradient.'  There's a … [Read more...]

Ratio questions are fairly popular on GCSE maths as ... they tend to be classed as 'functional' or 'real life' questions usually involving sharing money. Here's a link to a worksheet / answers and video walkthough on simplifying ratio. Top Tips! ● Try to find a way of working out the value of one part ● You might need to add all the parts together, and divide into the … [Read more...]

Algebra expressions ... are becoming quite popular with GCSE maths questions. They are usually about reducing fractions and working with indices. Top Tips! ● They are sometimes called ‘working with indices’ ● Learn the rules and try to apply them consistently ● Remember that an index of a half ... means a square root ● ...and an index of a third .... means a cube root ● … [Read more...]

'Expand brackets and simplify' are very common GCSE algebra questions ... and tend to be worth a few marks in most exam papers. The principles are fairly similar and, once you've decided on a method, it's better to continue to practice that. Bracketed terms are used frequently in maths, to describe solving quadratic or cubic functions, and can be useful in working with the … [Read more...]