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 plane flies 2340 km at an average speed of 780 km/h. It departs at 08:20. Work out the arrival time, using the 24-hour clock.
- 2.The area of a triangle is given by the formula A = bh/2, where b is the base and h is the height. Make h the subject of the formula.
- 3.The population of a village is 1200. It is predicted to grow by 5% next year. Work out the predicted population after 1 year, to the nearest whole number.
- 4.A solid has 4 triangular faces, 4 vertices and 6 edges. What is the name of this solid?
- 5.A garden centre recorded 240 plant sales using a frequency tree. The first stage splits the sales into three types: shrubs, bedding plants and trees. 96 sales were shrubs, 114 were bedding plants and the rest were trees. Work out the probability that a sale chosen at random from these 240 was a tree.
- 6.Seven pupils were asked how many books they had read last month. Their answers were 3, 5, 5, 7, 8, 5, 3. Write down the mode.
- 7.Which of these numbers is a common factor of 18 and 24?
- 8.Expand 4(2x − 3).
- 9.Freya buys three items whose prices are in the ratio 2:3:5. Altogether she pays £400. Work out the price of the most expensive item.
- 10.A circle has diameter 10 cm. Using π = 3.14, work out the circumference of the circle.
- 11.180 gardeners at an allotment were asked whether they grow vegetables organically. 100 of the gardeners are on the north plots. 64 of the north-plot gardeners grow organically. 30 of the south-plot gardeners do not grow organically. Work out how many south-plot gardeners grow organically.
- 12.Which of these is written correctly in standard form?
- 13.A geometric sequence starts at 3, and each term after that is found by multiplying the term before it by 2. Write down the first four terms.
- 14.A laptop is bought for £600. Its value decreases by 20% after 1 year. Work out the value of the laptop after 1 year.
- 15.An isosceles trapezium has exactly one pair of parallel sides, and its two non-parallel sides are equal in length. How many lines of symmetry does it have?
- 16.Write 0.875 as a fraction in its simplest form.
- 17.A printer starts a job with 480 sheets of paper loaded and prints at a steady rate. The number of sheets left, S, after t minutes is given by S = 480 − 24t. Work out how many minutes it takes for the paper to run out completely.
- 18.Two mathematically similar rectangles have widths 5 cm and 10 cm. The perimeter of the smaller rectangle is 18 cm. Work out the perimeter of the larger rectangle.
- 19.Sam compares 0.6 and 5/8 by comparing the digit 6 with the digit 5, and says that 0.6 is the larger number. Convert 5/8 to a decimal to find the correct larger value.
- 20.Two quantities are connected by the formula y = 0.8x. Write down the ratio y : x in its simplest form.y = 0.8x
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.