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 quarter-circle has a radius of 6 cm. Work out the exact perimeter of the quarter-circle, giving your answer in terms of π.
- 2.Which of these is a formula, rather than an expression, an equation, or an identity?
- 3.A cookery class lasts 45 minutes. A double lesson at school lasts 2 hours. Write the length of the cookery class as a fraction of the length of the double lesson. Give your answer in its simplest form.
- 4.Priya says: 'To find the arc length of a sector, you divide the circumference by the angle in degrees.' Which statement about Priya's method is correct?
- 5.A spinner has equal sections, and the probability that it lands on blue in a single spin is 1/4. It is spun twice, and the two spins are independent. Work out the probability that it lands on blue on both spins.
- 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.Write down the decimal that is equal to 3/5.
- 8.A gardener charges a fixed fee of £15 plus £8 for each hour worked. The total charge, £T, for a job lasting h hours is given by T = 15 + 8h. Work out the charge for a job lasting 4 hours, and identify what kind of statement T = 15 + 8h is.
- 9.A section of a kitchen wall has an area of 45,000 cm². Work out the area of this section in m².
- 10.A rhombus has all four sides equal in length. Which statement about a rhombus is correct?
- 11.On the probability scale from 0 to 1, which word best describes an event with probability 0.9?
- 12.Is 120 divisible by 5? Give a reason for your answer.
- 13.The nth term of a sequence is n² + 3. Work out the first term of the sequence that is greater than 50.
- 14.A recipe uses flour and sugar in the ratio 4 : 1 by mass. The mass of sugar is s grams and the mass of flour is f grams. Write down a formula for f in terms of s.
- 15.A triangle has vertices A(1, 1), B(5, 1) and C(5, 4). Work out the lengths of AB, BC and CA, and write down whether triangle ABC is right-angled.
- 16.In a chess club, 3/8 of the members are girls and the rest are boys. Write down the ratio of girls to boys.
- 17.A car park charges by the hour. Parking for 1 hour costs £5, 2 hours costs £9, 3 hours costs £13 and 4 hours costs £17, with the cost increasing by the same amount for each extra hour. Work out an expression, in terms of n, for the cost, in pounds, of parking for n hours.
- 18.Two numbers are in the ratio 5 : 8. The larger number is 40. Work out the smaller number.
- 19.A space probe is 7.5 × 10⁸ km from Earth. Write this distance as an ordinary number.
- 20.Write the ratio 3/4 : 1/2 as a ratio of whole numbers 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.