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.Write the mixed number 2 1/4 as an improper fraction.
- 2.In a shop a shirt costs £x and a pair of trousers costs £(2x + 30). Together the two items cost at least £150. Work out the lowest possible price of the shirt.
- 3.The ratio of the number of pages Mia has read to the number of pages Leo has read is 7 : 4. Mia has read 84 pages. Work out how many pages they have read altogether.
- 4.A triangular prism has a cross-section that is a triangle with a base of 3.5 cm and a perpendicular height of 4 cm. The prism is 10 cm long. Work out the volume of the prism.
- 5.A bag contains 5 yellow marbles and 3 blue marbles. Noah takes a marble at random, notes its colour and puts it back in the bag. He then takes a second marble at random. Work out the probability that the first marble is yellow and the second marble is blue.
- 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 café buys 18 boxes of teabags at £3.45 each, and sells all the teabags for £108 in total. Work out the café's profit.
- 8.Which of these statements is an identity?
- 9.A film lasts 105 minutes. A documentary lasts 45 minutes. Write the length of the film as a fraction of the length of the documentary. Give your answer in its simplest form.
- 10.Work out the exact value of sin 45° × cos 45°.
- 11.At a fair, a game costs £2 to play. The probability of winning the game is 0.15, and each win pays out £10. Amir plays the game 200 times. Work out how much money Amir should expect to lose in total.
- 12.Write 0.25 as a fraction in its simplest form.
- 13.Which of these is an equation, rather than an expression, a formula or an identity?
- 14.Priya invests £750 in a savings account that pays simple interest. After 3 years, the account contains £840. Work out the annual rate of simple interest.
- 15.A raised garden bed is a prism whose cross-section is a triangle with a base of 1.2 m and a perpendicular height of 0.8 m. The bed is 3 m long. Work out the volume of soil needed to fill it, in m³.
- 16.Find the missing number: ▢ ÷ 15 = 24
- 17.Which expression means the same as 3 × a × b?
- 18.Two numbers are in the ratio 5 : 8. The larger number is 40. Work out the smaller number.
- 19.Write down the symbol that makes this statement true: 0.45 ___ 0.5
- 20.In a fruit bowl, the ratio of apples to oranges is 5 : 3. Work out what percentage of the fruit in the bowl is apples.
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.