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.Write down the reciprocal of 0.2
- 2.A car passes the 15 km marker on a road and passes the 195 km marker 3 hours later. Work out the gradient of the distance-time graph, that is the rate of change of distance with time.
- 3.In a test, Amelia answered 18 of the 24 questions correctly. Work out the percentage of the questions she answered correctly.
- 4.A water tank is a cube with edges of length 2 m. Work out how many cubic centimetres the tank holds when it is full.
- 5.At a leisure centre, 50 members are asked which activities they do. 32 do yoga, 24 do pilates, and 11 do both. Work out how many members do yoga only, and not pilates.
- 6.In a spelling test the 20 pupils in Group A had a mean mark of 80, and the 30 pupils in Group B had a mean mark of 70. Work out the mean mark of all 50 pupils.
- 7.Work out 2⁵.
- 8.Solve 6x − 5 = 3x + 13.
- 9.At an animal shelter, the ratio of cats to dogs is 2:5. There are 18 more dogs than cats. Work out the number of cats.
- 10.A tile is described as having two pairs of parallel sides, four equal sides, and diagonals that cross at right angles but are not equal in length. Give a reason why this tile cannot be a square.
- 11.A spinner is divided into 8 equal sections. 3 of the sections are red and the rest are not red. The spinner is spun once. Work out the probability that it does not land on red.
- 12.A jug holds 3 1/3 litres of juice. Each glass holds 2/3 of a litre. Work out how many glasses can be filled from the jug.
- 13.A number machine adds 5 to its input. Work out the output when the input is 0.
- 14.A jug of squash is made by mixing water and syrup in the ratio 6:1. Nia wants to make 8.4 litres of squash. Work out how much syrup she needs, in litres.
- 15.Triangle T has a vertex at (8, 4). It is enlarged by a scale factor of 1/2, centre (2, 4). Work out the coordinates of the image of this vertex.
- 16.Work out (5 + 2) × 3²
- 17.Two brothers have ages that add up to 30. The elder brother is 6 years older than the younger brother. Work out the age of the younger brother.
- 18.y is directly proportional to x, and y = 7x. Work out the value of x when y = 35.y = 7x
- 19.At a swimming pool the ratio of adults to children is 3 : 5. Of the children, 2/5 are boys. What fraction of the people at the pool are boys?
- 20.3 builders put up a fence in 12 days. All the builders work at the same rate, so the number of days is inversely proportional to the number of builders. Work out how long 9 builders take to put up the same fence.
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.