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.Two lighthouses flash at the start of the same minute. The first lighthouse flashes every 8 minutes and the second flashes every 12 minutes. Work out how many minutes it will be until they next flash together.
- 2.The cost, in pounds, of hiring a van for d days is given by the formula C = 25 + 18d. A customer's hire cost £133. Work out how many days, d, they hired the van for, by first rearranging the formula to make d the subject.
- 3.It takes 2 identical pumps 10 hours to empty a flooded basement. Working at the same rate, work out how many hours 5 of these pumps would take to empty the same basement.
- 4.A tile manufacturer cuts a hexagonal tile so that all six sides measure exactly 4 cm, but a check shows only two pairs of the six interior angles are equal to each other, not all six angles. The customer's order specifies regular hexagonal tiles. Based on the check, is this tile a regular hexagon?
- 5.Two ordinary fair dice are rolled and the two scores are added together. Work out the probability that the total is a prime number.
- 6.A sector of a pie chart stands for 25% of the data. Work out the angle at the centre of that sector.
- 7.Hannah works out 3.1 × 19.6 on her calculator and writes down 6.076. Work out an estimate for 3.1 × 19.6, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
- 8.Solve 2(x + 3) = 10
- 9.A hosepipe fills a paddling pool at a constant rate. The volume of water in the pool increases by 15 litres every 3 minutes. Write down the gradient of the graph of volume against time.
- 10.The angle between north and a cycle path is 40°, but it is measured anticlockwise from north. What is the three-figure bearing of the cycle path?
- 11.Two fair five-sided dice, numbered 1 to 5, are rolled. Work out the probability that the two scores differ by at least 2.
- 12.The length of a nail is 12 cm, correct to the nearest centimetre. Using L for the length of the nail in centimetres, write down the error interval for L.
- 13.A parcel delivery company's cost graph shows the following: the cost is a flat £5 for parcels weighing up to 2 kg, and then rises by £2 for each additional kg above 2 kg. Use the graph to work out the weight of a parcel that costs £17.
- 14.A car uses 6 litres of petrol to travel 90 km. Write the ratio of the distance travelled in km to the amount of petrol used in litres, in its simplest form.
- 15.In this question, a curved surface counts as a face. How many faces does a sphere have?
- 16.Work out ∛(−27) + ∛8
- 17.The area of a circle is given by the formula A = πr², where r is the radius. Rearrange the formula to make r the subject.
- 18.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.
- 19.Work out 3/7 × 14/9. Give your answer as a fraction in its simplest form.
- 20.In a box of pens, 3/7 of the pens are blue and the rest are black. Write down the ratio of the number of blue pens to the number of black pens, 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.