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

VersionsA only A + B A + B + Csame questions, different order

AnswersQuestions only With answer key Key only

New sheet

GCSE Foundation sample Paper 1 (non-calculator)

Maths · GCSE Foundation · Paper 1 · Non-calculator · 20 questions

MathsUKwww.geekhero.co.uk

1.A tin of beans has a mass of 650 g. A bag of rice has a mass of 1.35 kg. Work out the total mass, in kilograms.
(a)651.35 kg
(b)0.70 kg
(c)2.00 kg
(d)7.85 kg
2.Leo is three times as old as his brother. His brother is x years old. Write down an expression for Leo's age.
(a)3x
(b)x − 3
(c)x/3
(d)x + 3
3.The ratio of the amount of money Harry has to the amount of money Isla has is 5:3. Harry has £35. Work out how much money Isla has.
(a)£7
(b)£28
(c)£21
(d)£33
4.Triangles LMN and XYZ have LM = XY, MN = YZ and LN = XZ. Give a reason why triangle LMN is congruent to triangle XYZ.
(a)SSS – all three corresponding sides are equal
(b)RHS – a right angle, hypotenuse and one other side are equal
(c)SAS – two sides and the included angle are equal
(d)ASA – two angles and the included side are equal
5.A machine makes 4000 light bulbs a day and runs 5 days a week. Two inspectors test bulbs from this machine. Inspector A tests 40 bulbs and finds 4 faulty. Inspector B tests 500 bulbs and finds 30 faulty. Using the better of the two estimates, work out how many faulty bulbs the machine is expected to make in one week.
(a)1200
(b)240
(c)1600
(d)2000
6.A company found that the higher the price it charged for a product, the lower the satisfaction score its customers gave. The price and the satisfaction score are plotted on a scatter graph. Describe the line of best fit that would be drawn on that graph.
(a)A straight line sloping down from left to right
(b)A horizontal straight line
(c)A straight line sloping up from left to right
(d)A curve passing through every point
7.A laptop costs £720. A carrying case for it costs 1/9 of the price of the laptop. Work out the cost of the carrying case.
(a)£72
(b)£640
(c)£80
(d)£6480
8.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.
(a)t = 0 or t = 4
(b)t = 2
(c)t = 0
(d)t = 1 or t = 3
9.A solution is made by dissolving 50 g of sugar in 200 g of water. Work out the concentration of sugar in the solution as a percentage.
(a)20%
(b)25%
(c)80%
(d)0.2%
10.After a translation by the vector $(6 - 2)$ , a point lands on (4, 1). Write down the coordinates of the point before the translation.
(a)(2, −5)
(b)(2, 7)
(c)(6, −5)
(d)(6, 7)
11.A six-sided dice is rolled 12 times. It lands on a six 4 times. Erin says that the dice must be biased. Which of these is the best comment on Erin's statement?
(a)She is right; 4 sixes beats the expected 2
(b)She is wrong; 12 rolls is too few to judge
(c)She is wrong; 4 sixes in 12 rolls cancels down to 1 in 6
(d)She is right; a fair dice gives each score twice
12.Work out an estimate for 8,900 ÷ 29, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
(a)300
(b)307
(c)450
(d)3,000
13.The formula for the volume of a cuboid is V = lwh, where l is the length, w is the width and h is the height. Make h the subject of the formula.
(a)h = Vlw
(b)h = V − lw
(c)h = V / (lw)
(d)h = lw / V
14.A fruit squash is made by mixing squash and water. In a jug, 2/9 of the total volume is squash. A caterer makes up 4.5 litres of the squash mixture. Work out how many litres of squash are in the mixture.
(a)2.25 litres
(b)3.50 litres
(c)0.50 litres
(d)1.00 litres
15.The point (2, 5) is translated 3 units right and 4 units down. Work out the coordinates of the image point.
(a)(−1, 1)
(b)(5, 9)
(c)(5, 1)
(d)(2, 1)
16.The population of a planet is 8 × 10⁹. Write this population as an ordinary number.
(a)720
(b)800,000,000
(c)8,000,000,000
(d)0.000000008
17.The graph of y = (x − 4)(x + 1) crosses the x-axis. Which pair gives the correct roots and reasoning?
(a)x = −4 and x = −1, because the roots are always the negative of the numbers shown in the brackets.
(b)x = 4 and x = 1, because both brackets must be positive at the roots.
(c)x = 4 and x = −1, because the graph crosses the x-axis where x − 4 = 0 or x + 1 = 0.
(d)x = −4 and x = 1, because the signs inside the brackets must be reversed to solve them.
18.y is directly proportional to x. If the value of x is trebled (multiplied by 3), what happens to the value of y?
(a)y stays the same
(b)y is divided by 3
(c)y is trebled
(d)y increases by 3
19.Round 0.006482 to 2 significant figures.
(a)0.01
(b)0.00648
(c)0.0065
(d)0.006
20.The angles of a triangle are in the ratio 2:3:4. Work out the size of the smallest angle.
(a)80°
(b)60°
(c)40°
(d)20°

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.