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

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GCSE Foundation sample Paper 1 (non-calculator)

Maths · GCSE Foundation · Paper 1 · Non-calculator · 20 questions

MathsUKwww.geekhero.co.uk

1.At a bus station one bus leaves every 6 minutes and another leaves every 9 minutes. The two buses leave together at the start of the day. Work out how long it is until they next leave together.
(a)18 minutes
(b)54 minutes
(c)3 minutes
(d)15 minutes
2.A candle is 30 cm tall and burns down at a steady rate of 1 cm per hour. Write down the function for the height of the candle y, in centimetres, after x hours.
(a)y = −30x + 1
(b)y = x + 30
(c)y = −x + 30
(d)y = 30x − 1
3.A box holds 60 crayons. 25 of the crayons are broken and the rest are unbroken. Write the number of unbroken crayons as a fraction of the number of broken crayons. Give your answer in its simplest form.
(a)5/7
(b)2/5
(c)7/12
(d)7/5
4.How many vertices does a cuboid have?
(a)12
(b)6
(c)4
(d)8
5.On the probability scale from 0 to 1, which word best describes an event with probability 0.9?
(a)unlikely
(b)likely
(c)certain
(d)evens
6.A scatter graph has 50 points. Most of them lie close to a rising line of best fit, but two of them lie a long way from that line. Write down how those two points should be treated.
(a)Move the line of best fit so that it passes through them
(b)Treat them as outliers and check them before deciding
(c)Delete them at once, since a far-off point is an error
(d)Take them as proof that there is no correlation at all
7.Write down the value of 3⁰
(a)3
(b)0
(c)1/3
(d)1
8.A rectangle has area 24x + 18. Ffion factorises the area as 6(4x + 3). Work out the value of the area when x = 2, and decide whether 6 and (4x + 3) are correctly identified as factors of 24x + 18.
(a)11 — 6 and (4x + 3) are correct factors of 24x + 18.
(b)66 — 6 and (4x + 3) are not correct factors of 24x + 18.
(c)84 — 6 and (4x + 3) are correct factors of 24x + 18.
(d)66 — 6 and (4x + 3) are correct factors of 24x + 18.
9.A sunflower is 140 cm tall. A tomato plant is 80 cm tall. Write the height of the tomato plant as a fraction of the height of the sunflower, giving your answer in its simplest form.
(a)7/4
(b)3/7
(c)4/11
(d)4/7
10.A water tank is a cube with edges of length 2 m. Work out how many cubic centimetres the tank holds when it is full.
(a)8,000,000 cm³
(b)8,000 cm³
(c)8 cm³
(d)80,000 cm³
11.A cinema sold 150 tickets for a Saturday screening. A frequency tree records the sales: 90 of the tickets were bought by adults and the rest by children. Of the adult tickets, 54 were for the 3D showing and the rest were for the standard showing. Work out how many adult tickets were for the standard showing.
(a)54
(b)96
(c)36
(d)60
12.A tin of beans has a mass of 650 g. A bag of rice has a mass of 1.35 kg. Work out the total mass, in kilograms.
(a)651.35 kg
(b)0.70 kg
(c)2.00 kg
(d)7.85 kg
13.Solve 4(x − 3) = 2x + 6.
(a)4.5
(b)−3
(c)3
(d)9
14.Triangle ABC is mathematically similar to triangle PQR, with AB corresponding to PQ and BC corresponding to QR. AB = 6 cm, BC = 8 cm and PQ = 12 cm. Work out the length of QR.
(a)32 cm
(b)24 cm
(c)16 cm
(d)14 cm
15.A solid is built from centimetre cubes standing on a table. Seen from the front, the left-hand column is 2 cubes high, the middle column is 2 cubes high and the right-hand column is 1 cube high. Work out how many squares make up the front elevation.
(a)3
(b)6
(c)5
(d)4
16.A number, x, is truncated (not rounded) to 1 decimal place and the result is 6.2. Write down the error interval for x.
(a)6.1 < x ≤ 6.2
(b)6.2 ≤ x < 6.3
(c)6.2 ≤ x ≤ 6.3
(d)6.15 ≤ x < 6.25
17.Solve 2x² − 32 = 0.
(a)x = 8
(b)x = 4
(c)x = 16
(d)x = 4 or x = −4
18.A scale drawing states '1 cm represents 25 m'. Which of these is the correct way to write this scale in the form 1 : n?
(a)1 : 25
(b)1 : 2.5
(c)1 : 250
(d)1 : 2500
19.A fabric is dyed blue and yellow in the ratio 3 : 5. A tailor uses 1.5 m of blue fabric and the matching amount of yellow fabric needed for the ratio. Work out the total length of fabric used.
(a)2.5 m
(b)4 m
(c)1.5 m
(d)2.4 m
20.A market stall sells apples at a fixed price per kilogram. Priya buys 3 kg for £5.40. Write the ratio of the mass in kilograms to the cost in pounds, in its simplest form.
(a)1 : 18
(b)9 : 5
(c)5 : 9
(d)3 : 5

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.