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.Work out the value of √49 + ∛27
- 2.A square tile has an area of 144 cm². Work out the side length of the tile.
- 3.A dog walker's charge, C pounds, for walking a dog for m minutes is shown on a straight-line graph. The line passes through the points (20, 14) and (50, 26). Work out the charge for a 65-minute walk.
- 4.A kite string makes an angle of 30° with the ground. The kite is flying at a height of 6 m directly above a point on the ground. Using the exact value of sin 30°, work out the exact length of the kite string.
- 5.Ellie drops a bottle top and records whether it lands open end up. In her first 20 drops it lands open end up 13 times. She carries on, and after 200 drops in total it has landed open end up 84 times. Work out the best estimate of the probability that the bottle top lands open end up.
- 6.A shop sold seven pairs of shoes in these sizes: 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6, 9. Write down the modal size.
- 7.A cycle route is 350 m long. A footpath runs alongside it for 3/7 of that length. Work out the length of the footpath.
- 8.n = 3. Work out the value of (2n)².
- 9.A force of 20 N acts on an area of 4 m². Using pressure = force ÷ area, work out the pressure, in pascals.
- 10.Work out the exact value of sin 30° + cos 60°.
- 11.Spinner A has 4 equal sections, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4. Spinner B has 3 equal sections, coloured red, red and blue. Both spinners are spun once. Work out the probability of getting an even number on Spinner A and red on Spinner B.
- 12.Work out −6 × (−3).
- 13.A printer starts a job with 480 sheets of paper loaded and prints at a steady rate. The number of sheets left, S, after t minutes is given by S = 480 − 24t. Work out how many minutes it takes for the paper to run out completely.
- 14.Which of these ratios is equivalent to 5 : 4?
- 15.A trapezium has parallel sides of length 6 cm and 10 cm, and a perpendicular height of 4 cm. Work out its area.
- 16.Priya adds 3.6 and 0.45 on paper and writes down 3.65 as her answer. Work out the correct value of 3.6 + 0.45.
- 17.Two numbers have a sum of 50. The larger number is twice the smaller number. Work out the smaller number.
- 18.A garden plan is enlarged by a scale factor of 3. A flower bed on the original plan is 5 cm long. Work out the length of the flower bed on the enlarged plan, in centimetres.
- 19.A number line runs from 0 to 1 and is divided into 4 equal parts. Which mark on the line represents 1/4?
- 20.5 decorators paint 3 rooms in 6 hours. All the decorators work at the same rate. Work out how long it takes 10 decorators to paint 5 rooms.
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.