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 number is multiplied by 4, then 8 is added, giving the result 40. Work out the number.
- 2.The solution set of an inequality is x ≥ 7. Write down the value that does NOT satisfy this inequality.
- 3.Ollie says that the ratio 6 : 15 is equivalent to the ratio 2 : 5. Is he correct? Give a reason for your answer.
- 4.Point C is at (2, 3). It is rotated 90° clockwise about the origin. Work out the coordinates of the image of point C.
- 5.A leisure centre has 150 members. 80 of the members are male and the rest are female. Every member uses either the pool or the gym, but not both. 66 members use the pool, and 35 of those pool users are male. Work out how many female members use the gym.
- 6.A café in Preston records the type of drink ordered by 20 customers one morning: tea 8, coffee 7, hot chocolate 4 and juice 1. Write down the modal drink.
- 7.Four friends share a restaurant bill of £53.90 equally. A calculator gives each share as 13.475. Work out how much each friend should pay.
- 8.A box contains 6 chocolates. Write down an expression for the total number of chocolates in c boxes.
- 9.Write 0.25 as a percentage.
- 10.A straight transversal crosses a pair of parallel lines. At one crossing point, the angle between the transversal and a parallel line is 118°. Work out the size of the co-interior (allied) angle at the other crossing point.
- 11.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.
- 12.Find the missing number: 17 × ▢ = 391
- 13.A student says that (x + 4)² is equivalent to x² + 16. For which value of x do the two expressions give the SAME result, making it look (misleadingly) like the student could be right?
- 14.An oven is preheating. Its temperature, T °C, is plotted against time, t minutes, on a straight-line graph. The line passes through the points (2, 60) and (6, 140). Work out the gradient of the line.
- 15.p is the column vector with top number 4 and bottom number −3. Work out 2p, giving your answer as a column vector in the form (top, bottom).
- 16.Which one of these statements is true?
- 17.A triangle has vertices at (1, 1), (1, 5) and (6, 1). Work out the area of the triangle.
- 18.A straight-line graph shows the cost, C pounds, of hiring a small van for m miles driven. The line passes through the origin and the point (25, 20). Work out the gradient of the line.
- 19.Amelia has 49 boxes of apples with 21 apples in each box. Work out an estimate for the total number of apples, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
- 20.A company's turnover this year is £180,000. Last year's turnover was £120,000. Write down this year's turnover as a percentage of last year's turnover.
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.