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 student writes 0.08 as the fraction 8/10, reading the 8 as if it stood in the tenths column and ignoring the zero. Work out the correct fraction that 0.08 is equal to, giving your answer in its simplest form.
- 2.The mean of four numbers is 12.5. Three of the numbers are 8, 15 and 19. Form an equation using n for the fourth number, and solve it to find n.
- 3.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.
- 4.A warehouse stores identical cube-shaped crates. Its plan view is a 2 by 4 rectangle of crate positions, and every position is filled to a height of 3 crates, except one corner position, which has only 2 crates stacked on it because a delivery was incomplete. How many crates are there in total?
- 5.At a fun run, a raffle stall charges £1.50 per ticket. The probability that any one ticket wins a prize worth £8 is 0.12, and a losing ticket wins nothing. Nadia buys 25 tickets. Work out how much money Nadia should expect to lose in total.
- 6.A two-way table records whether each of the 30 pupils in a class passed maths and whether they passed science. 18 pupils passed maths, 12 pupils passed science and 8 pupils passed both. Work out how many pupils passed at least one of the two subjects.
- 7.A cycle route is 350 m long. A footpath runs alongside it for 3/7 of that length. Work out the length of the footpath.
- 8.Work out the value of 5a + 2 when a = 3
- 9.Work out how many seconds there are in 3 minutes and 20 seconds.
- 10.Write down the exact value of sin 0°.
- 11.A box contains counters that are silver, bronze or copper only. The probability that a counter taken at random is silver is 1/2 and the probability that it is bronze is 1/8. The box contains 64 counters in total. Work out the number of copper counters.
- 12.Which of these units would be most appropriate to use when stating the mass of a small car?
- 13.A sequence has the position-to-term rule n² + 1, where n is the position number. Work out how much bigger the 5th term is than the 4th term.
- 14.A tank is filled at a rate of 3 litres every 2 minutes. Given that 1 litre = 1000 cm³, work out the flow rate in cm³ per minute.
- 15.Shape S has an area of 48 cm². It is enlarged by a scale factor of 1/4 to give shape T. Work out the area of shape T.
- 16.A metal cube has a mass of 540 g and a volume of 60 cm³. Work out its density in g/cm³.
- 17.The solution to an inequality is n ≤ 5. Write down the largest integer value of n that satisfies this inequality.
- 18.A sofa costs £800. Its price is increased by 25%. Work out the new price of the sofa.
- 19.Write 0.875 as a fraction in its simplest form.
- 20.y is inversely proportional to x. When x = 5, y = 8. Work out the value of y when x = 10.
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.