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)
MathsUKwww.geekhero.co.uk
- 1.A company sells 4 × 10³ items per day, each priced at £2.50. It operates for 3 × 10² days a year. Work out the company's total revenue for the year. Give your answer in standard form.
- 2.Solve x − 4 = −9
- 3.Two mathematically similar polygons have perimeters in the ratio 2 : 5. Write the ratio of their areas in its simplest form.
- 4.A shopkeeper builds a display from two cuboid boxes, shown in the diagram. She wants to cover the front of the display with coloured paper. Work out the total area of the front elevation, in square centimetres.
- 5.Grace rolls two ordinary fair dice at the same time and works out the total of the two scores. Work out the probability that the total is greater than 10.
- 6.A dual bar chart shows how many boys and how many girls are in a class. The bar for boys stands at 14 and the bar for girls stands at 16. Work out how many pupils are in the class altogether.
- 7.A number, y, is equal to 8.2 when rounded to 1 decimal place. Write down the error interval for y.
- 8.How many turning points does the graph of y = x² − 7x + 10 have?y = x² − 7x + 10
- 9.Sam has £24. Tom has £16. Write the amount of money Sam has as a fraction of the amount of money Tom has, giving your answer in its simplest form.
- 10.A square tile has sides of length 6 cm. Work out the area of the tile.
- 11.A garden centre tests 250 packets of seeds for germination, recording the results on a frequency tree. 68% of the 250 packets germinated successfully, and the rest did not. Work out how many packets germinated successfully.
- 12.The number 24 can be written as 2³ × 3, and the number 60 can be written as 2² × 3 × 5. Work out the lowest common multiple of 24 and 60.
- 13.Work out the value of (x − 4)/2 + 3 when x = 10
- 14.A delivery driver travels 45 km in the first 30 minutes of a journey, and then a further 75 km in the next 1 hour. Work out her average speed for the whole journey, in km/h.
- 15.A solid is built from five centimetre cubes, standing side by side on a table in a single straight row. Looking down from directly above (the plan view), how many squares are visible?
- 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 graph of y = 20/x is drawn for x > 0. As the value of x increases, what happens to the value of y?
- 18.Two quantities x and y are in the ratio x : y = 2 : 5, and y = kx for a constant k. Work out the value of k.
- 19.A jug holds 1.25 litres of water. Ella pours in another 400 ml. Work out the total volume, in litres.
- 20.Work out 50% of 60.
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.