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 jug holds 1.8 litres of juice. Priya pours out 3/4 of a litre to fill a glass. Work out how much juice is left in the jug, in millilitres.
- 2.Four sequences are shown below. Sequence P: 4, 8, 16, 32, ... Sequence Q: 4, 8, 12, 16, ... Sequence R: 4, 7, 12, 19, ... Sequence S: 4, 9, 16, 25, ... Work out which of the sequences P, Q, R and S is geometric.
- 3.A company's profit this year is 130% of last year's profit. Last year's profit was £40,000. Work out this year's profit.
- 4.The vector describes a translation. A student writes it as by mistake. Write down what error the student has made.
- 5.A red dice and a blue dice are rolled. Both dice are ordinary and fair. Work out the probability of getting a 1 on the red dice and a 2 on the blue dice.
- 6.Work out the median of these six numbers: 13, 21, 22, 36, 37, 47
- 7.A lift has a safe working load of 500 kg. Four people get in the lift and the lift's display records their total mass as 493 kg, correct to the nearest kg. Decide whether the four people are definitely within the safe working load.
- 8.The nth term of a sequence is 4n + 2. A term in the sequence has value 30. Work out its position, n, in the sequence.
- 9.Write the ratio 6a : 9a in its simplest form, where a is a positive number.
- 10.A perpendicular bisector is drawn through the midpoint of a line segment AB. Which set of points does this construction show?
- 11.The probability that a plant grown from a seed packet germinates is 7/10. Work out the probability that it does not germinate.
- 12.A number, x, is truncated (not rounded) to 1 decimal place and the result is 6.2. Write down the error interval for x.
- 13.A plant is 4 cm tall in week 1. Each week after that, its height increases by 5 cm. Work out the first week in which the plant is taller than 30 cm.
- 14.A 750 g box of cereal costs £2.70. A 500 g box of the same cereal costs £1.95. Work out which box is better value, and its cost per 100 g.
- 15.Three angles meet at a single point on one side of a straight line. Two of the angles are 48° and 65°. Work out the third angle.
- 16.At midday the temperature in the Lake District was 3 °C. By midnight it had fallen to −6 °C. Work out the fall in temperature.
- 17.The triangular numbers begin 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, ... Work out the next term in the sequence.
- 18.Three friends share a raffle prize of £360 in the ratio 2:3:4. Work out the share of the friend whose part of the ratio is 3.
- 19.Which of these is equal to 5³?
- 20.A car is bought for £12000. Its value falls by 15% in the first year and by 10% in each year after that. Work out the value of the car 3 years after it was bought.
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.