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.Tickets to a theme park cost £38.50 for an adult and £19.75 for a child. A family estimates the total cost for 4 adults and 3 children, by rounding each ticket price to the nearest £5. Work out their estimate for the total cost.
- 2.The triangular numbers begin 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, ... Work out the next term in the sequence.
- 3.A colony of bacteria has 400 bacteria. The number increases by 15% each hour. Work out the number of bacteria after 1 hour.
- 4.A square tile has sides of length 6 cm. Work out the area of the tile.
- 5.Two ordinary fair dice are rolled. Work out the probability that the difference between the two scores is 1.
- 6.A school has 1,000 pupils. A student wants to estimate how many of them walk to school, so she asks 8 pupils in her own class. She says her sample is large enough to give a reliable estimate for the whole school. Is she right? Give a reason for your answer.
- 7.Work out (−36) ÷ (−6) × 2
- 8.Which of these is an equation, rather than an expression, a formula or an identity?
- 9.A recipe for 4 people needs 300 g of rice. Work out how much rice is needed for 6 people, assuming the amount is in direct proportion to the number of people.
- 10.A hexagonal prism has 8 faces and 12 vertices. Using F + V − E = 2, work out how many edges it has.
- 11.In a board game Mia moves forward by the total of two ordinary fair dice. Work out the probability that her total is 7. Give your answer as a fraction in its simplest form.
- 12.A jug holds 1.25 litres of water. Ella pours in another 400 ml. Work out the total volume, in litres.
- 13.A regular hexagon has sides of length (x + 2) cm. Write down an expression, in terms of x, for the perimeter of the hexagon.
- 14.Write the ratio 3/4 : 1/2 as a ratio of whole numbers in its simplest form.
- 15.After a translation by the vector , a point lands on (4, 1). Write down the coordinates of the point before the translation.
- 16.Write 0.45 as a fraction in its simplest form.
- 17.The perimeter of a rectangle is given by the formula P = 2(l + w), where l is the length and w is the width. A rectangular garden has a perimeter of 46 m and a length of 14 m. Rearrange the formula to make w the subject, then work out the width of the garden.
- 18.A shop sells identical pens. The total cost, C pence, of n pens is given by C = 12n. Write the ratio n : C in its simplest form.
- 19.Work out −4.5 + 2.8.
- 20.A recipe uses flour, sugar and butter in the ratio 8 : 3 : 5. Write the ratio of flour to the rest of the mixture (sugar and butter combined) 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.