Powers and roots worksheet for GCSE and iGCSE maths: squares, cubes, roots and surds with exact answers. Foundation and Higher, with full worked solutions.

A complete powers and roots worksheet for Pearson Edexcel GCSE (1MA1) and International GCSE (4MA1), written so one resource works for both tiers. Every section is clearly labelled Foundation or Higher, and questions get harder as you go.

What’s covered — Foundation

Squares, cubes, higher powers and their roots
Solving equations such as x² = 49
Using a calculator for powers and roots

What’s covered — Higher (grades 6 to 9)

Simplifying and calculating with surds
Rationalising denominators
Giving exact answers

How it’s structured

A. Worked examples & Your turn — a model solution beside a matching question to try
B. Fluency — core skills
C. Reasoning — explain it
D. Problem solving — unfamiliar, multi-step questions
E. Exam practice — exam-style questions with mark allocations

133 marks across Sections B to E (64 Foundation, 69 Higher), with a progress tracker on the front page so students can record their score per section. The Higher section takes students from roots into surds and rationalising denominators, giving a natural bridge into Higher-tier algebra.

How to use it

Works as a full lesson, homework, a cover lesson or targeted intervention. Because each tier is labelled, you can set the Foundation sections to one group and the Higher sections to another from the same print.

What’s included

14-page worksheet (PDF, printable, with answer spaces)
7-page full worked solutions (PDF) — complete method for every question, not just final answers
Calculator only where shown

Specification

Pearson Edexcel GCSE Mathematics (1MA1) and International GCSE Mathematics (4MA1), Number. All questions are original.