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.A square petri dish has an area of 121 mm². A scientist wants to know its side length. Work out the side length of the dish.
- 2.Simplify k + k + k + k + k.
- 3.A ribbon of length 90 cm is cut into two pieces in the ratio 4:5. Work out the length of the shorter piece.
- 4.A hexagonal prism has 8 faces and 12 vertices. Using F + V − E = 2, work out how many edges it has.
- 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.
- 6.A scatter graph plots the shoe size and the spelling test score of 25 pupils. The points are scattered with no pattern across the graph. Write down the type of correlation shown.
- 7.Which one of these statements about negative numbers is true?
- 8.Simplify x + x + 4
- 9.The price of a share falls by 10% on Monday and then rises by 10% on Tuesday. Work out the overall percentage change from Monday's starting price.
- 10.p is the column vector with top number 2 and bottom number 3. q is the column vector with top number −1 and bottom number 4. Work out 2p + q, giving your answer as a column vector in the form (top, bottom).
- 11.A small pack contains 5 cards, numbered 1 to 5. One card is drawn at random from the pack, and a fair coin is flipped. Every outcome is listed as a pair, such as (3, H). Work out how many equally likely outcomes there are in total.
- 12.Work out 1/2 of 1/4 of 80.
- 13.A number machine multiplies its input by 3. The output is 15. Work out the input.
- 14.A laptop bag has a mass of 2.4 kg. A school bag has a mass of 3.6 kg. Write the mass of the laptop bag as a fraction of the mass of the school bag, giving your answer in its simplest form.
- 15.A postcard measuring 10 cm by 15 cm is enlarged by a scale factor of 2 to make a poster. Work out the area of the poster, in cm².
- 16.A bag of flour is labelled 1.5 kg, correct to the nearest 0.1 kg. The true mass of the flour is m kg. Which inequality gives all the possible values of m?
- 17.A hiker's distance-time graph shows the following: he walks 5 km in the first 1 hour at a steady speed, rests for 1 hour, then walks a further 9 km in the next 2 hours, also at a steady speed. Work out his average speed for the whole journey, in km/h.
- 18.Write the ratio 4 : 9 in the form 1 : n.
- 19.Amelia estimates 48 × 21 by working out 50 × 20 = 1,000. Work out whether her estimate is an under-estimate or an over-estimate, and by how much.
- 20.In a school choir the ratio of boys to girls is 3:4. When 6 more boys join the choir, the ratio of boys to girls becomes 1:1. Work out how many girls are in the choir.
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.