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.Amelia estimates 48 × 21 by working out 50 × 20 = 1,000. Work out whether her estimate is an under-estimate or an over-estimate, and by how much.
- 2.Sophie's mother is 34 years old. In x years' time she will be 50 years old. Work out the value of x.
- 3.Priya is paid £58.50 for working 7.5 hours on a Saturday. Work out her rate of pay, in £ per hour.
- 4.A furniture catalogue drawing uses a scale of 1 cm to 1.5 m. A sofa in the drawing is measured as 7 cm long. What is the real length of the sofa, in metres?
- 5.A charity tombola has 30 tickets, 6 of which win a prize. Priya buys a ticket at random and does not return it. Her friend Tom then buys a second ticket at random from the remaining tickets. Work out the probability that both Priya and Tom win a prize.
- 6.A pupil writes this question for a school survey: “Do you agree that learning matters and that we should be set more homework?” Write down what is wrong with the survey question.
- 7.Write down the symbol that makes this statement true: 3/10 ___ 0.3
- 8.A table of values is being drawn for the graph of y = x³. Work out the value of y when x = −2.y = x
- 9.The price of a cycling helmet rises from £80 to £116. Work out the percentage increase.
- 10.In a kite, one pair of opposite angles are equal in size. In kite WXYZ, angle X = 40° and angle Z = 100° are the two angles that are NOT equal to each other. The other two angles, W and Y, are equal to each other. Work out the size of angle W.
- 11.In a class of 32 pupils, 19 study geography and 15 study history. 8 study both subjects. Work out n(G ∪ H), the number of pupils who study geography or history or both.
- 12.Work out 0.6 × 0.04.
- 13.The diagram shows a distance–time graph for a cyclist travelling at a constant speed, for the first 6 minutes of a journey. Distance is in kilometres and time is in minutes. Work out how far the cyclist would travel in 20 minutes at the same speed.
- 14.1 litre = 100 centilitres. Work out how many centilitres there are in 6 litres.
- 15.How many faces does a cuboid have?
- 16.A necklace is made from red beads and gold beads in the ratio 7 : 3. What fraction of the beads are gold?
- 17.Solve (2x + 1)/3 = 5
- 18.Which of these ratios is already written in its simplest form?
- 19.Work out 5 + 3 × (9 − 6)
- 20.A map has a scale of 1 : 100. A path measures 5 cm on the map. Work out the real length of the path, in metres.
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.