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.Write 0.875 as a fraction in its simplest form.
- 2.A rectangular photo has length (x + 3) cm and width x cm. Its area is 40 cm². Work out the value of x.
- 3.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.
- 4.A zip-wire is fixed at an angle of 60° to the horizontal ground. The zip-wire is 12 m long. Using the exact value of cos 60°, work out the exact horizontal distance it covers.
- 5.A garage tested 200 cars in one week. 70% of the cars were more than 3 years old and the rest were 3 years old or less. Of the cars more than 3 years old, 1 in 4 failed the test. 12 of the cars that were 3 years old or less failed the test. Work out how many of the 200 cars failed the test altogether.
- 6.A sector of a pie chart stands for 25% of the data. Work out the angle at the centre of that sector.
- 7.Write 12 as a product of its prime factors.
- 8.Work out the equation of the straight line that passes through (−2, 3) and (4, −9).
- 9.£5000 is invested in an account paying 4% compound interest each year. Work out the total interest earned after 3 years.
- 10.A parallelogram has an area of 96 cm² and a base of 8 cm. Work out the perpendicular height of the parallelogram.
- 11.A fair spinner has 8 equal sections: 5 are red and 3 are blue. Freya spins it twice, and each spin is independent of the other. Work out the probability that she gets one red and one blue in the two spins, in either order.
- 12.Put these numbers in order, starting with the smallest: 3.2 × 10⁴, 2.9 × 10⁵, 4.1 × 10³
- 13.A point lies on the y-axis. What can be said about the x-coordinate of that point?
- 14.£96 is shared between Ben, Cara and Dev in the ratio 2:3:7. Work out how much Cara receives.
- 15.A triangular bunting flag has two equal sides. The angle between those two equal sides is 80°, and the other two angles of the flag are equal to each other. Work out the size of each of the two equal angles.
- 16.The thickness of a sheet of card is 0.02384 cm. Write this thickness correct to 2 significant figures.
- 17.For the graph of y = 1/x, where x cannot be zero, which of these statements is correct?
- 18.A recipe needs 1.2 kg of flour. Dan has 750 g of flour in his cupboard. Write the mass of flour the recipe needs as a fraction of the mass of flour Dan has. Give your answer in its simplest form.
- 19.Write down the symbol that makes this statement true: −9 ___ −4
- 20.A model car is built at a scale of 1 : 20 compared with the real car. Work out the factor by which the surface area to be painted on the real car is bigger than the surface area of the model.
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.