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

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1.In a car park the ratio of vans to cars is 2 : 7. Work out the number of vans as a fraction of the number of cars.
(a)7/9
(b)2/7
(c)7/2
(d)2/9
2.Solve 6x − 5 = 3x + 13.
(a)18
(b)2
(c)2.67
(d)6
3.A shade of paint is made by mixing blue paint and white paint. To make 5 litres of the shade, 2 litres of blue paint is used and the rest is white paint. Write the ratio of blue paint to white paint in its simplest form.
(a)5:3
(b)2:5
(c)2:3
(d)3:2
4.A rectangular photograph is 12 cm long and 5 cm wide. Work out the perimeter of the photograph.
(a)24 cm
(b)17 cm
(c)34 cm
(d)60 cm²
5.A red fair dice and a blue fair dice are rolled together. Every outcome is listed as an ordered pair, red score then blue score. Work out the probability that the red score is less than the blue score.
(a)7/12
(b)5/12
(c)5/36
(d)1/2
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.
(a)35 minutes
(b)45 minutes
(c)5 minutes
(d)40 minutes
7.Round 0.006852 to 2 significant figures.
(a)0.0069
(b)0.0068
(c)0.007
(d)0.00685
8.Two brothers have ages that add up to 30. The elder brother is 6 years older than the younger brother. Work out the age of the younger brother.
(a)24
(b)18
(c)15
(d)12
9.Work out how many seconds there are in 3 minutes and 20 seconds.
(a)200 seconds
(b)320 seconds
(c)180 seconds
(d)23 seconds
10.Triangle ABC has a right angle at B, hypotenuse AC = 13 cm and AB = 5 cm. Triangle DEF has a right angle at E, hypotenuse DF = 13 cm and DE = 5 cm. Which condition proves the two triangles are congruent?
(a)SSS - three sides equal
(b)RHS - right angle, hypotenuse and one side equal
(c)ASA - two angles and the included side equal
(d)SAS - two sides and the included angle equal
11.180 people entered a fun run. A frequency tree splits them into 108 adults and the rest children. It then splits each of those groups into those who finished and those who did not. 99 of the adults finished, and 153 of the 180 people finished altogether. Work out how many children did not finish.
(a)9
(b)54
(c)27
(d)18
12.Leah measures the length of her classroom with a tape measure marked in centimetres. She writes the length down as 7.3157 m. Give a reason why this is not an appropriate degree of accuracy.
(a)The tape can only give the length to the nearest centimetre
(b)A length in metres must be written to 2 decimal places
(c)A length in metres must be rounded to the nearest metre
(d)The tape can only give the length to the nearest millimetre
13.Make x the subject of the formula y = x + 7.
y = x + 7
(a)x = y + 7
(b)x = y − 7
(c)x = 7 − y
(d)x = 7y
14.A recipe for 8 people needs 320 g of rice. Sanjay scales the recipe down to serve 5 people, then wants to scale his new amount back up to serve 8 people again. Work out the multiplier he should use to scale his amount for 5 people back up to the amount for 8 people.
(a)8/5
(b)3/5
(c)25/64
(d)5/8
15.A sector of a circle is bounded by two straight edges and one curved edge. Write down the mathematical term for each of the two straight edges.
(a)Chord
(b)Diameter
(c)Radius
(d)Arc
16.A gardener has 42 tulip bulbs and 56 daffodil bulbs. She plants them in rows, with every row containing the same number of tulip bulbs and the same number of daffodil bulbs, and no bulbs left over. Work out the greatest number of rows she can plant.
(a)7
(b)14
(c)2
(d)168
17.Amelia's mother is three times as old as Amelia. Four years ago her mother was five times as old as Amelia was then. Work out Amelia's age now.
(a)4
(b)2
(c)16
(d)8
18.Ffion is paid £11.20 per hour. She works 6 hours on Monday and 4.5 hours on Tuesday. Work out her total pay for the two days.
(a)£67.20
(b)£50.40
(c)£106.40
(d)£117.60
19.Work out how many factors 36 has.
(a)5
(b)10
(c)8
(d)9
20.Leah puts £4000 into a savings account paying 3% compound interest each year. At the end of 2 years she takes out all of the money and spends £1500 of it on a laptop. Work out how much of the money she has left.
(a)£2620.00
(b)£2740.00
(c)£2743.60
(d)£4243.60

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.