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.Simplify 3² ÷ 3⁵, giving your answer as a single power of 3.
- 2.A cyclist's distance-time graph shows the following: she travels 12 km in the first 30 minutes at a steady speed, then rests for 30 minutes, then travels a further 8 km in the next 15 minutes. Work out her average speed, in km/h, for the whole journey.
- 3.An amount of money is shared in the ratio 1:2:3. The largest share is £90 more than the smallest share. Work out the total amount that was shared.
- 4.Write down the term for the distance all the way around the edge of a circle.
- 5.Four pupils each flip the same coin a number of times and record the results. Sam flips it 40 times and gets 24 heads. Priti flips it 25 times and gets 10 heads. Leo flips it 20 times and gets 9 heads. Fatima flips it 15 times and gets 6 heads. Combine all four pupils' results to estimate the probability that the coin lands on heads.
- 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.Work out 0.6 × 0.04.
- 8.Work out the distance of the point (−6, 4) from the x-axis.
- 9.A box holds 80 chocolates. 75% of them are milk chocolates. Work out how many milk chocolates are in the box.
- 10.Two similar hexagonal tiles have lengths in the ratio 4 : 7. A side of the smaller tile is 8.4 cm long. Work out the length of the corresponding side of the larger tile.
- 11.The universal set is {1, 2, 3, ..., 30}. Set A is the set of multiples of 4 between 1 and 30. Work out n(A′), the number of elements not in A.
- 12.Work out √144 − 2 × 3 + √25
- 13.A point has coordinates (x, y), where x + y = 0 and x is not 0. In which two quadrants could this point lie?
- 14.A bag contains red counters and blue counters in the ratio 5:3. There are 56 counters in the bag altogether. Work out how many counters are blue.
- 15.The diagram shows the plan, front elevation and side elevation of a solid. Which of these solids matches all three views?
- 16.A café offers 3 types of soup and 4 types of bread roll. Work out how many different combinations of one soup and one bread roll are possible.
- 17.The first four terms of a sequence are 5, 8, 11, 14. Work out an expression, in terms of n, for the nth term.
- 18.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.
- 19.Four friends share a restaurant bill of £53.90 equally. A calculator gives each share as 13.475. Work out how much each friend should pay.
- 20.In a choir of 30 singers, 40% are altos and the rest are sopranos. Write the number of sopranos as a fraction of the number of altos. Give your answer in its simplest form.
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.