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.Last year a company made a profit of £5,200,000. Write this amount in standard form.
- 2.Harry will spend at most £150 on a party. The cake costs £60 and each helium balloon costs £3. Solve an inequality to find all the possible numbers of balloons, x, that he can buy.
- 3.Which of these ratios is equivalent to 5 : 4?
- 4.A solid cylinder is lying on its curved side on a table, with its circular ends facing left and right. What shape is its plan view, looking down from above?
- 5.A fair coin is flipped and an ordinary fair dice is rolled. Every possible result is listed in a table. Work out how many different results the table contains altogether.
- 6.A timetable shows the departure times of a bus from Leeds to Harrogate: 08:15, 08:50, 09:25, 10:05, 10:40. Chloe arrives at the bus stop at 09:30. Work out how many minutes she has to wait for the next bus.
- 7.Work out how many factors 36 has.
- 8.The formula for the circumference of a circle is C = 2πr, where r is the radius. Make r the subject of the formula.
- 9.A blue ribbon is 45 cm long. A red ribbon is 30 cm long. Write the length of the blue ribbon as a fraction of the length of the red ribbon. Give your answer in its simplest form.
- 10.A cable supporting a flagpole is anchored to the ground 5 m from the base of the pole. The cable makes an angle of 60° with the ground. Using the exact value of tan 60°, work out the exact height of the flagpole.
- 11.A market research company found that, out of 120 shoppers surveyed, 42 preferred paper bags to plastic bags. A supermarket expects 900 shoppers this week. Using this relative frequency, work out how many of the 900 shoppers would be expected to prefer paper bags.
- 12.Is 120 divisible by 5? Give a reason for your answer.
- 13.A cinema sells adult tickets for £10 and child tickets for £6. A family group buys 9 tickets in total, spending £74. Work out how many adult tickets were bought.
- 14.Write 45 minutes : 2 hours as a ratio in its simplest form.
- 15.A is the point (1, 3) and B is the point (7, 3). Work out the coordinates of the midpoint of AB.
- 16.Freya uses her calculator to work out 7² and writes down 14. Work out the correct value of 7².
- 17.Solve the simultaneous equations 3x + 2y = 16 and x + y = 7. Work out the value of y.
- 18.In a recipe the mass of chocolate to the mass of milk is in the ratio 1:4. Amelia uses 200 g of milk. Work out the mass of chocolate she needs.
- 19.A pair of trainers is priced at £80 online. The shop takes 25% off the price and then adds £10 for next-day delivery. Work out the total cost.
- 20.A shop's takings were £4500 in May. In June the takings fell by £900. Write the June takings as a fraction of the May takings, in its simplest form.
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.