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 charity bake sale sells 187 cakes at £2.95 each. By rounding each number to 1 significant figure, work out an estimate for the total amount raised.
- 2.Work out the value of a² − 2b when a = −3 and b = 4.
- 3.A recipe for pancakes uses 240 g of flour to make pancakes for 6 people. Work out how many grams of flour are needed to make pancakes for 15 people, using the same recipe.
- 4.Write down which one of these statements about quadrilaterals is true.
- 5.Spinner A is numbered 1 to 3 and Spinner B is numbered 1 to 5. Both spinners are spun once, and every outcome is listed as a pair, one number from each spinner. Work out how many equally likely outcomes there are in total.
- 6.A bar chart shows the highest temperature recorded on each of five days. The temperatures were Monday 20 °C, Tuesday 22 °C, Wednesday 18 °C, Thursday 25 °C and Friday 23 °C. Write down the day on which the temperature was highest.
- 7.Postage on a parcel is calculated as £4.60, correct to the nearest 20p. Which of these could not be the actual cost of the postage?
- 8.Solve 2(x + 3) = 10
- 9.A shop buys a bike for £150 and sells it, making a profit of £45. Write the selling price as a fraction of the cost price, giving your answer in its simplest form.
- 10.Triangle ABC and triangle DEF both contain a right angle, at B and E respectively, and the hypotenuses AC and DF are equal in length. Which extra fact would prove the triangles are congruent by RHS?
- 11.Bag A contains 3 red balls and 2 blue balls. Bag B contains 1 red ball and 3 blue balls. One ball is taken at random from each bag. Work out the probability that both balls are red.
- 12.Write '3.2 million' as a number in figures.
- 13.A sequence has the position-to-term rule n² − 3, where n is the position number. Work out the difference between the 6th term and the 5th term.
- 14.Work out the value of x when 4/x = 2/5.
- 15.A translation is described by the column vector . Write down the column vector of the translation that undoes it.
- 16.A supermarket sells apples at £1.85 per kg. Anna buys 3.6 kg of apples. Estimate the cost by rounding each number to 1 significant figure before multiplying. Work out Anna's estimate.
- 17.The first five square numbers are 1, 4, 9, 16, 25. Write down the next square number in the sequence.
- 18.Line P passes through the origin and the point (3, 21). Line Q passes through the origin and the point (5, 45). Both lines represent the distance, in metres, run by an athlete against the time, in seconds. Work out the gradient of the steeper line.
- 19.A photography studio offers 4 backdrops and 3 outfits for a portrait session. The plain grey backdrop, one of the 4 backdrops, cannot be used with the formal suit outfit, one of the 3 outfits. Work out how many different backdrop-and-outfit combinations are possible.
- 20.A laptop bag has a mass of 2.4 kg. A school bag has a mass of 3.6 kg. Write the mass of the laptop bag as a fraction of the mass of the school bag, giving your answer in its simplest form.
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.