Sample paper · GCSE Foundation · grades 1–5
GCSE Foundation sample Paper 1 (non-calculator)
The real Paper 1 is 1.5 hour 30 minutes and 80 marks, non-calculator, and all three papers carry equal weight. This sample is 20 original questions in the same content proportions as the Foundation qualification — number 25%, algebra 20%, ratio, proportion and rates of change 25%, geometry and measures 15%, probability 7.5%, statistics 7.5% — with no calculator-only items. AO1 / AO2 / AO3 at this tier: 50% / 25% / 25%.
Non-calculatorGCSE Foundation
GCSE Foundation sample Paper 1 (non-calculator)
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- 1.A minibus can carry 16 passengers. A school is taking 179 pupils on a trip. By rounding 179 to the nearest 10, work out an estimate for the number of minibuses needed, given that the school cannot hire part of a minibus.
- 2.A plumber charges a £35 call-out fee plus £20 for each hour worked, h. On a certain job the total charge was £115. Work out how many hours the plumber worked.
- 3.Rice costs £3.20 per kg. Work out the cost of the rice in pence per 100 g.
- 4.In triangle ABC, angle A is 2x°, angle B is 3x° and angle C is 4x°. Work out the size of angle B.
- 5.The probability that a seed fails to germinate is 1/5. Three seeds are planted independently. Work out the probability that at least one of the three seeds germinates.
- 6.A scatter graph has 50 points. Most of them lie close to a rising line of best fit, but two of them lie a long way from that line. Write down how those two points should be treated.
- 7.A student always writes the digits after the decimal point over a denominator of 100, whatever the number of decimal places. Using this wrong rule, they convert 0.9 to a fraction. Work out the correct fraction that 0.9 is equal to, giving your answer in its simplest form.
- 8.A number, w, satisfies the statement "three times w, minus 5, is at least 16". Which of these is the correct inequality for w?
- 9.A plan is drawn to a scale of 1 : 500. Work out how many metres are represented by 1 cm on the plan.
- 10.A shop sells a scale model of a van. The model and the real van are similar shapes, with lengths in the ratio 1 : 24. The model is 18.5 cm long. Work out the length of the real van, giving your answer in metres.
- 11.A pupil must choose 2 different subjects at random from these five: maths, physics, biology, chemistry and history. Work out the probability that the two subjects chosen are maths and biology.
- 12.Write 0.06 as a fraction in its simplest form.
- 13.Which expression is equivalent to 3(2x − 5) + 4x?
- 14.A furniture designer makes a scale model of a wardrobe using a scale of 1 : 8. The real wardrobe is 2.4 m tall and 1.2 m wide. Work out the perimeter of the front face of the model wardrobe, in centimetres.
- 15.A market stall sells apples at £2.40 per kilogram. Which of these expressions gives the cost, in pounds, of buying m kilograms of apples?
- 16.Oliver drives 95 km at an average speed of 50 km/h. Work out an estimate for the time the journey takes, by rounding the distance to the nearest 100 km.
- 17.The first five square numbers are 1, 4, 9, 16, 25. Write down the next square number in the sequence.
- 18.Write the ratio 18:22 in its simplest form.
- 19.Which statement about the number 51 is correct?
- 20.A parcel has a mass of 2400 g. Given that 1 kg = 1000 g, work out the mass of the parcel in kilograms.
How the 20 questions are shared out
- Number — 5 questions (25% of the qualification)
- Algebra — 4 questions (20% of the qualification)
- Ratio, proportion and rates of change — 5 questions (25% of the qualification)
- Geometry and measures — 3 questions (15% of the qualification)
- Probability — 2 questions (7.5% of the qualification)
- Statistics — 1 question (7.5% of the qualification)
Where an area has fewer printable questions than its share, the shortfall is filled from the other areas. These are original questions, not past papers.