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.In a school, 3/5 of the students study French. Of these students, 2/3 also study Spanish. What fraction of all the students study both French and Spanish?
- 2.A wall is tiled in rows, and every row uses the same number of tiles. One row uses 10 tiles, two rows use 20 tiles and three rows use 30 tiles. Work out how many tiles are needed for 7 rows.
- 3.In a fruit drink, 3/8 of the total volume is orange juice and the rest is apple juice. Write down the ratio of orange juice to apple juice, in its simplest form.
- 4.A locus consists of all the points that are the same perpendicular distance from two parallel lines 6 cm apart. Describe this locus.
- 5.A fair coin is flipped again and again. After the first 10 flips there have been 7 heads. After 1000 flips there have been 528 heads. Which statement best describes what these results show?
- 6.A café in Preston records the type of drink ordered by 20 customers one morning: tea 8, coffee 7, hot chocolate 4 and juice 1. Write down the modal drink.
- 7.Work out the value of 6² − 4³.
- 8.The point B has coordinates (−2, −2). In which quadrant is B?
- 9.£2000 is invested in a savings account that pays 5% compound interest each year. Work out the value of the investment at the end of 2 years.
- 10.A survey team measures the angle between two fences with a protractor and gets a reading of 254°. What type of angle is this?
- 11.A bag contains 3 red counters, 2 blue counters and 2 green counters. One counter is taken at random from the bag. Work out the probability that the counter is red.
- 12.A recipe uses 160 g of flour. Sam wants to increase the amount by 1/4. Work out the new amount of flour.
- 13.Work out the value of a² − 2b when a = −3 and b = 4.
- 14.The number of calories burned, E, by a runner is plotted against the time, m minutes, on a straight-line graph. The line passes through the origin and the point (10, 80). Work out the gradient of the line.
- 15.A photograph is 10 cm wide and 15 cm tall. It is enlarged to make a similar poster that is 40 cm wide. The poster costs £0.80 per centimetre of its height to print, based on its full height. Work out the cost of printing the poster.
- 16.Oliver drives 95 km at an average speed of 50 km/h. Work out an estimate for the time the journey takes, by rounding the distance to the nearest 100 km.
- 17.A sequence begins at 50, and each term after that is found by subtracting 8 from the term before it. Priya says the 8th term of the sequence is negative. Is Priya correct?
- 18.A bottle contains 1.5 litres of juice. Given that 1 litre = 1000 ml, work out the capacity of the bottle in millilitres.
- 19.Two-digit numbers are formed using the digits 2, 5, 7 and 8, and each digit may be used only once in a number. Work out how many of these two-digit numbers are even.
- 20.A solution is made by dissolving 50 g of sugar in 200 g of water. Work out the concentration of sugar in the solution as a percentage.
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.