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.Put these three numbers in order of size, starting with the smallest: 3/8, 0.4, 0.35
- 2.Which expression is equivalent to 3(x + 4) − 2(x − 1)?
- 3.A glass holds 250 ml of squash. Work out how many of these glasses are needed to fill a 1 litre bottle.
- 4.The point (0, −5) lies on one of the two coordinate axes. Write down which axis this is.
- 5.A six-sided dice is rolled 12 times. It lands on a six 4 times. Erin says that the dice must be biased. Which of these is the best comment on Erin's statement?
- 6.A stacked bar for one day at a café in Norwich shows total drink sales of 50 drinks, split into three parts: 22 were tea, 15 were coffee and the rest were hot chocolate. Work out the number of hot chocolates sold.
- 7.Two fair six-sided dice are rolled together. One die is red and the other is blue. Work out how many different outcomes are possible.
- 8.Point P has coordinates (2, −5). P is reflected in the x-axis to point Q. Write down the coordinates of Q.
- 9.Two mathematically similar polygons have perimeters in the ratio 2 : 5. Write the ratio of their areas in its simplest form.
- 10.Triangle XYZ has angle X = 90°. Angle Y = 34°. Work out angle Z.
- 11.A fair six-sided dice is rolled 120 times. Work out how many of the rolls you would expect to give a score of 3 or more.
- 12.A shop buys boxes of pens for £4 each. It sells each box on to a school for £3 more than it paid, and charges an extra £2 delivery fee for the whole order. A school orders 5 boxes. Work out the total cost of the order.
- 13.Which expression is equivalent to 4(x − 2) + 10?
- 14.The number of biscuits, b, that each guest at a party receives is inversely proportional to the number of guests, g. Which equation could show this relationship?
- 15.A drone flies from its base in three stages, each stage measured in metres east and north as a column vector. Stage 1 is the column vector with top number 30 and bottom number 40. Stage 2 is the column vector with top number −10 and bottom number 20. Stage 3 is the column vector with top number 15 and bottom number −5. Work out the column vector that would take the drone in a single straight flight back to its base from where it ends up.
- 16.Write the fraction 47/50 as a decimal.
- 17.a = 3 and b = 5. Work out the value of a²b.
- 18.Write 3/4 as a percentage.
- 19.Work out an estimate for 2.9² + 3.1², by rounding each number to the nearest whole number.
- 20.A box holds 80 chocolates. 75% of them are milk chocolates. Work out how many milk chocolates are in the box.
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.