Sample paper · GCSE Foundation · grades 1–5
GCSE Foundation sample Paper 2 (calculator)
The real Paper 2 is 1.5 hour 30 minutes and 80 marks, 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 a calculator allowed. AO1 / AO2 / AO3 at this tier: 50% / 25% / 25%.
GCSE Foundation sample Paper 2 (calculator)
- 1.Write 0.35 as a fraction in its lowest terms.
- 2.Make x the subject of the formula y = 5x + 3.y = 5x + 3
- 3.A map's scale is given as '1 cm represents 2 km'. Write this scale in the form 1 : n.
- 4.Triangle ABC is drawn. The interior angle bisectors from vertices A and B are constructed and meet at point I inside the triangle. Which statement about point I must be true?
- 5.In a trial, a drawing pin was dropped 80 times and landed point-up 52 times. Assuming this relative frequency continues, work out how many times you would expect it to land point-up in 300 drops.
- 6.The lowest temperature in a garden in Sheffield was recorded on each of seven days: 3 °C, 5 °C, 2 °C, 7 °C, 4 °C, 6 °C and 3 °C. Write down what the range of these seven temperatures describes.
- 7.A charity raises money from a raffle and a cake sale in the ratio 5 : 3. Altogether the charity raises £320. Work out how much money the cake sale raised.
- 8.A rectangular garden has width w metres and length (w + 3) metres. A gardener writes its perimeter as 2w + 3. Which statement corrects the gardener's mistake?
- 9.The ratio of the number of red beads to blue beads in a bracelet is 3 : 7. There are 21 blue beads. Work out the number of red beads.
- 10.A chocolate bar is a prism. Its cross-section is a triangle with a base of 6 cm and a perpendicular height of 5 cm, and the bar is 12 cm long. Work out the volume of the bar.
- 11.Spinner A has 4 equal sections, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4. Spinner B has 3 equal sections, coloured red, red and blue. Both spinners are spun once. Work out the probability of getting an even number on Spinner A and red on Spinner B.
- 12.A bus leaves the station at 09:47 and arrives at its destination at 11:23. Work out the journey time.
- 13.How many turning points does the graph of y = x² − 7x + 10 have?y = x² − 7x + 10
- 14.Three numbers are in the ratio 1:2:3. The three numbers add up to 72. Work out the largest of the three numbers.
- 15.Point C is at (2, 3). It is rotated 90° clockwise about the origin. Work out the coordinates of the image of point C.
- 16.Work out √25 + 4² − 12 ÷ 3
- 17.Which of these points lies in the first quadrant?
- 18.A map has a scale of 1 : 25 000. A footpath measures 6 cm on the map. Work out the real length of the footpath, in kilometres.
- 19.To estimate the cost of buying 38.7 m of rope at £21.40 per metre, both numbers are first rounded to 1 significant figure. Work out the estimate.
- 20.A baker uses 450 g of flour and 300 g of butter in a batch of pastry. Write the mass of butter as a fraction of the total mass of flour and butter, 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.