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 plank of wood is 5 1/4 m long. Pieces of length 3/4 m are cut from it. Work out how many complete pieces of 3/4 m can be cut from the plank.
- 2.A point has coordinates (x, y). In which two quadrants is the product x × y positive?
- 3.There are 400 students at a school. 25% of them have a brother, 40% have a sister and 15% have both a brother and a sister. Work out how many of the students have neither a brother nor a sister.
- 4.Write down the name given to a quadrilateral that has exactly one pair of parallel sides.
- 5.The probability that a plant grown from a seed packet germinates is 7/10. Work out the probability that it does not germinate.
- 6.A scatter graph shows the height, x cm, and the mass, y kg, of 20 pupils in Year 10. The heights on the graph run from 150 cm to 180 cm, and the line of best fit is y = 0.9x − 85. Nadia puts x = 90 into this equation to estimate the mass of a two-year-old child who is 90 cm tall. Is her estimate reliable? Give a reason for your answer.y = 0.9x − 85
- 7.A circle has a diameter of 10 cm. Work out the exact circumference of the circle, in terms of π.
- 8.The graph of y = x² − 7x + 2 crosses the x-axis at two points. One root, read from the graph, is approximately x = 0.30. Using the fact that the sum of the two roots of x² − 7x + 2 = 0 is 7, estimate the other root, correct to 2 decimal places.y = x² − 7x + 2
- 9.y is directly proportional to x. When x = 8, y = 20. Work out the value of y when x = 12.
- 10.Four angles meet at a point. Three of them measure 82°, 105° and 96°. Work out the size of the fourth angle.
- 11.A school trip took 200 pupils to a museum, travelling either by coach or by minibus. A frequency tree records the trip: 150 pupils travelled by coach, split into 90 in Year 8 and the rest in Year 9. All the pupils who travelled by minibus were in Year 8. Work out the total number of Year 8 pupils on the trip.
- 12.Sara has a red T-shirt, a blue T-shirt and a green T-shirt. She has black shorts and grey shorts. By listing the combinations systematically, work out how many different outfits of one T-shirt and one pair of shorts she can make.
- 13.Which expression means 'add 3 to n, then multiply the result by 4'?
- 14.A smoothie recipe combines 350 cm³ of mango juice with 650 cm³ of orange juice. Work out the total volume of the smoothie in litres.
- 15.Vertex X of a triangle is at (−3, 5). After a translation, the image of X is at (2, −1). Write down the column vector of this translation.
- 16.A garden has flowers, herbs and vegetables in the ratio 2 : 3 : 4. What fraction of the garden is not vegetables?
- 17.Solve 2x² − 32 = 0.
- 18.Which of these ratios is already written in its simplest form?
- 19.Four weather stations each recorded their lowest overnight temperature. Which of these readings is the lowest?
- 20.A room plan is drawn to a scale of 1 : 50. A wall in the room is 4 m long in real life. Work out the length of the wall on the plan, in centimetres.
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.