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 carton of orange juice holds 1.35 litres. Ruby pours the juice equally into 4 identical glasses. Work out how much juice is in each glass, giving your answer as a fraction of a litre in its simplest form.
- 2.A ball is thrown in the air. Its height, h metres, above the ground after t seconds is given in this table: when t = 0, h = 0; when t = 1, h = 15; when t = 2, h = 20; when t = 3, h = 15; when t = 4, h = 0. Use the table to find the two times, in seconds, at which the ball is at ground level.
- 3.In a bag the ratio of red counters to blue counters is 7 : 4. Write the number of red counters as a fraction of the number of blue counters.
- 4.Two similar shapes have lengths in the ratio 1 : 3. A side of the smaller shape is 4 cm long. Work out the length of the corresponding side of the larger shape.
- 5.The probability that Priya scores with a netball shot is 3/4. She takes two shots, and the shots are independent. Work out the probability that she scores with her first shot but misses her second shot.
- 6.A quality inspector weighs a random sample of 50 packets of crisps from one day's production and finds their mean mass is 32.4 g. The factory makes 20,000 packets that day. Work out an estimate for the total mass, in kg, of all the packets made that day.
- 7.A sponsored walk is 36 km long. Aisha has completed 8/12 of the walk. Work out how far she has walked.
- 8.A runner's journey is shown on a distance-time graph: she runs 8 km in the first hour, rests for 30 minutes with no distance gained, then runs a further 4 km in the next 30 minutes. Work out her average speed for the whole journey, in kilometres per hour.
- 9.Simplify the ratio 45 : 30 : 75 to its simplest form.
- 10.A point is translated twice by the vector . Write down the single column vector that describes the overall translation.
- 11.A train company runs 25 trains a day, every day. The probability that any one train is late is 0.08. Work out how many late trains the company should expect over a period of 4 weeks.
- 12.Work out the value of √64.
- 13.Which expression is equivalent to 6x − (2x − 5)?
- 14.Ravi has 5 pears. He has 4 times as many apples as pears. Write the number of pears as a fraction of the number of apples.
- 15.Which of these correctly compares a 'line' with a 'line segment'?
- 16.In a class, 1/3 of the pupils are girls. There are 12 girls in the class. Work out how many pupils are in the class.
- 17.Solve 5x² − 15x = 0.
- 18.Ffion is paid £11.20 per hour. She works 6 hours on Monday and 4.5 hours on Tuesday. Work out her total pay for the two days.
- 19.Work out (−2)² − 3
- 20.A printer prints at a constant rate. The time taken to print a batch of forms is inversely proportional to the printer's speed, in pages per minute. Printing at 20 pages per minute takes 15 minutes. Work out how long the same batch takes to print at 25 pages per minute. Give your answer in minutes.
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.