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

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GCSE Foundation sample Paper 1 (non-calculator)

Maths · GCSE Foundation · Paper 1 · Non-calculator · 20 questions

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1.A fruit bowl contains apples, pears and plums in the ratio 3 : 4 : 5. What fraction of the fruit are not plums?
(a)5/12
(b)7/24
(c)7/12
(d)7/5
2.A point has coordinates (x, y), where x + y = 0 and x is not 0. In which two quadrants could this point lie?
(a)Third and fourth
(b)First and third
(c)Second and fourth
(d)First and second
3.£1 is worth 1.25 US dollars. Write the ratio of pounds to dollars in its simplest form, using whole numbers.
(a)1:1
(b)5:4
(c)1:5
(d)4:5
4.Triangle ABC has AB = 10 cm, BC = 7 cm and angle A = 40°. Triangle DEF has DE = 10 cm, EF = 7 cm and angle D = 40°. Sam says the two triangles are congruent by SAS. Which statement about Sam's claim is correct?
(a)Wrong - none of the sides or angles match
(b)Correct, but by ASA rather than SAS
(c)Correct - two sides and an angle match
(d)Wrong - the given angle is not the included angle
5.At a coffee shop, each customer buys tea, coffee, water or juice, and never more than one of these. The probability that a customer buys tea is 0.36 and the probability that they buy juice is 0.04. The probability that a customer buys coffee is three times the probability that they buy water. Work out the probability that a customer buys water.
(a)0.15
(b)0.30
(c)0.60
(d)0.45
6.Two classes sat the same maths test, both marked out of 100. Class A had a mean mark of 70 and a range of 30 marks. Class B had a mean mark of 70 and a range of 10 marks. Compare the marks of the two classes.
(a)The means are equal, and Class B's marks are the more consistent because its range is smaller.
(b)Class A's mean mark is higher, and Class A's marks are also the more consistent.
(c)The means are equal, and Class A's marks are the more consistent because its range is larger.
(d)Class B's mean mark is higher, and its smaller range makes its marks the more consistent.
7.Which of these statements about −0.7 and −0.25 is true?
(a)−0.7 = −0.25
(b)−0.7 < −0.25
(c)−0.7 ≥ −0.25
(d)−0.7 > −0.25
8.Solve x² + 7x = 0.
(a)x = 0 or x = 7
(b)x = 0 or x = −14
(c)x = 0 or x = −7
(d)x = −7
9.An amount of money is shared in the ratio 1:2:3. The largest share is £90 more than the smallest share. Work out the total amount that was shared.
(a)£180
(b)£540
(c)£135
(d)£270
10.A circle has a radius of 1 cm. Work out the circumference of the circle. Give your answer in terms of π.
(a)π cm²
(b)4π cm
(c)2π cm
(d)π cm
11.A two-way table records 200 members of a gym. 80 of the members are women and the rest are men. 60 of the women attend yoga classes. Work out the percentage of the women who attend yoga classes.
(a)75%
(b)30%
(c)25%
(d)50%
12.The distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,000 km. Write this distance in standard form, in kilometres.
(a)3.84 × 10⁵
(b)3.84 × 10⁶
(c)3.84 × 10⁻⁵
(d)38.4 × 10⁴
13.A statement contains an equals sign and one unknown letter, and it is only true for particular value(s) of that letter. What is this type of statement called?
(a)a formula
(b)an expression
(c)an identity
(d)an equation
14.The ratio of the number of red beads to blue beads in a bracelet is 3 : 7. There are 21 blue beads. Work out the number of red beads.
(a)14
(b)9
(c)49
(d)24
15.A carpenter measures two triangular braces. Brace 1 has a 55° angle, a 65° angle, and, opposite the 55° angle, a side of 8 cm. Brace 2 has matching 55° and 65° angles and, opposite its 55° angle, a side of 8 cm. The carpenter says that because the equal 8 cm side is not between the two equal angles in either brace, he cannot be sure the two braces are the same size. Is the carpenter correct?
(a)No — any two angles enough alone
(b)Yes — third angle may differ
(c)Yes — side must be included
(d)No — third angle is also fixed
16.Work out an estimate for 79.3 − 24.6, by rounding each number to the nearest whole number.
(a)55
(b)54
(c)59
(d)54.7
17.A runner's journey is shown on a distance-time graph: she runs 8 km in the first hour, rests for 30 minutes with no distance gained, then runs a further 4 km in the next 30 minutes. Work out her average speed for the whole journey, in kilometres per hour.
(a)12 km/h
(b)8 km/h
(c)6 km/h
(d)4 km/h
18.The width, the length and the height of a box are in the ratio 3:4:5. The length of the box is 16 cm. Work out the height of the box.
(a)20 cm
(b)80 cm
(c)4 cm
(d)12 cm
19.Which one of these statements about negative numbers is true?
(a)−3 > 0
(b)0 > −1
(c)0 < −1
(d)−5 > −3
20.A plan of a garden is drawn to a scale of 1 : 200. A path measures 3 cm on the plan. Work out the real length of the path, in centimetres.
(a)600 cm
(b)60 cm
(c)203 cm
(d)6000 cm

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.