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%.
CalculatorGCSE Foundation
GCSE Foundation sample Paper 2 (calculator)
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- 1.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.
- 2.Here are the first five terms of an arithmetic sequence: 2, 5, 8, 11, 14. Work out the 8th term.
- 3.Divide 84 in the ratio 3:4. Work out the smaller share.
- 4.A circle is drawn on a page. Write down how many radii can be drawn in the circle.
- 5.Spinner C has 3 equal sections, numbered 2, 3 and 5. Spinner D has 6 equal sections, numbered 1 to 6. Both spinners are spun once, and the two numbers are multiplied together. Work out the probability that the product is a multiple of 5.
- 6.A sports club has 300 women members and 200 men members, 500 members in total. The club committee wants to choose a sample of 40 members that is in proportion to the club's membership. Work out how many women should be in the sample.
- 7.The population of a planet is 8 × 10⁹. Write this population as an ordinary number.
- 8.A sequence has the position-to-term rule n² + 1, where n is the position number. Work out how much bigger the 5th term is than the 4th term.
- 9.A force of 250 N acts on an area of 0.5 m². Using pressure = force ÷ area, work out the pressure, in pascals.
- 10.A garden flower bed is in the shape of a trapezium. Its two parallel edges are 3.5 m and 6.5 m long, and the perpendicular distance between them is 4 m. Bedding plants cost £2.50 per square metre to cover the bed. Work out the total cost of the bedding plants.
- 11.Five balls numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are in a bag. Two of them are taken out together at random. Work out the probability that the two numbers on them add up to more than 7.
- 12.Write 12 as a product of its prime factors.
- 13.Write down the coefficient of p in the expression 7 − 4p + 9q.
- 14.A metal block has a mass of 270 g and a volume of 30 cm³. Work out the density of the block, in g/cm³.
- 15.A construction for the perpendicular bisector of AB begins by opening a pair of compasses to more than half the length of AB, then drawing an arc centred at A. What is the next step?
- 16.Work out how many factors 36 has.
- 17.A vertical line passes through the point (4, 7). Write down the equation of this line.
- 18.A water tank has a capacity of 500 litres. It currently holds 350 litres of water. Write the amount of empty space in the tank as a fraction of the tank's capacity. Give your answer in its simplest form.
- 19.Sam compares 0.6 and 5/8 by comparing the digit 6 with the digit 5, and says that 0.6 is the larger number. Convert 5/8 to a decimal to find the correct larger value.
- 20.In one batch of shortbread, a bakery uses 240 g of butter and 160 g of sugar. Another batch, made in the same ratio, uses 90 g of sugar. Work out how much butter is needed for the second batch.
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.