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 café is planning its lunch menu. It will offer one soup from 3 choices and one sandwich from 4 choices, but the mushroom soup, one of the 3 soups, will only be served with the cheese sandwich, one of the 4 sandwiches, on a normal day. Work out how many different soup-and-sandwich combinations are available on a normal day.
- 2.A phone company works out a monthly bill, £B, using the formula B = 18 + 0.05t, where £18 is the fixed monthly charge and t is the number of extra text messages sent beyond the free allowance, each charged at 5p. Farida's bill for one month is £24.50. Work out the number of extra text messages, t, she sent.
- 3.A bottle contains 1.5 litres of juice. Given that 1 litre = 1000 ml, work out the capacity of the bottle in millilitres.
- 4.A square-based pyramid has a square base and four identical triangular sloping faces, with its apex directly above the centre of the base. How many planes of symmetry does it have?
- 5.Jack rolls two ordinary fair dice and adds the two scores together. Work out the probability that the total is 6.
- 6.A survey of 200 car owners in Bristol records the colour of each car: silver 74, black 52, blue 40 and red 34. Write down which average should be used to describe a typical car in this survey, and give a reason for your answer.
- 7.Work out an estimate for 113 + 491, by rounding each number to the nearest 100.
- 8.Solve the inequality 3x + 6 ≤ 0.
- 9.A recipe for 8 people needs 320 g of rice. Sanjay scales the recipe down to serve 5 people, then wants to scale his new amount back up to serve 8 people again. Work out the multiplier he should use to scale his amount for 5 people back up to the amount for 8 people.
- 10.A solid has two parallel, congruent polygon faces joined by flat rectangles, and its cross-section is the same shape all the way along its length. Which solid is it?
- 11.A fair six-sided dice is rolled once. Write down the probability of rolling a 6.
- 12.Work out ∛64.
- 13.Two numbers have a sum of 24. Their difference is 6. Work out the two numbers.
- 14.A baker uses 450 g of flour and 300 g of butter in a batch of pastry. Write the mass of butter as a fraction of the total mass of flour and butter, in its simplest form.
- 15.The diagram shows the plan, front elevation and side elevation of a solid. Which solid could this be?
- 16.Work out 100 − 4 × 5²
- 17.The solution set of x ≥ −1 is drawn on a number line. Which description of that number line is correct?
- 18.In a fruit bowl, the number of bananas is 3/4 of the number of apples. There are 16 apples in the bowl. Write the number of apples as a fraction of the number of bananas. Give your answer in its simplest form.
- 19.A plumber charges a call-out fee of £45 and then £28 for each hour she works. She is at a house from 09:15 until 12:45. Work out the total charge.
- 20.A salt solution has a concentration of 10%. The solution contains 50 g of salt. Work out the total mass of the solution.
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.