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%.

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GCSE Foundation sample Paper 2 (calculator)

Maths · GCSE Foundation · Paper 2 · Calculator · 20 questions

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1.Work out an estimate for 312 × 19, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
(a)6200
(b)5928
(c)6000
(d)600
2.A rectangular garden has length (x + 7) m and width (x − 7) m. Work out an expression for the area of the garden, giving your answer in its simplest form.
(a)2x
(b)x² + 49
(c)x² − 14x − 49
(d)x² − 49
3.Isla and her brother share £60 in the ratio 1:2. Work out Isla's share.
(a)£40
(b)£20
(c)£120
(d)£30
4.A courier drone delivers a parcel. It starts at the point (2, 1) on a map grid measured in kilometres. It flies by the vector $(- 3 5)$ to a warehouse, then by the vector $(4 - 1)$ to the delivery address. Work out the coordinates of the delivery address.
(a)(7, −2)
(b)(11, −3)
(c)(8, −6)
(d)(6, 2)
5.A spinner can land on red, blue, green or yellow. The probability that it lands on red is 0.24 and the probability that it lands on yellow is 0.16. The probabilities of landing on blue and on green are equal, and each is called x. Work out the value of x.
(a)0.30
(b)0.15
(c)0.60
(d)0.38
6.A sports shop in Cardiff sold 40 pairs of football boots last month: 4 pairs of size 6, 5 pairs of size 7, 8 pairs of size 8, 13 pairs of size 9 and 10 pairs of size 10. The manager will order 40 pairs for next month and wants as many pairs as possible to be in a size customers will buy. Work out the mean size and the modal size, and write down which of the two he should use.
(a)The modal size, 9, bought by more customers than any other
(b)The range of the sizes, 4, which covers every size sold
(c)The mean size, 8, the average of the five sizes on sale
(d)The mean size, 8.5, which takes account of all 40 pairs
7.A car travels 180 km using 6 litres of fuel. Work out the car's fuel consumption in kilometres per litre, then work out how many kilometres it can travel on a full tank of 12 litres at this rate.
(a)2160 km
(b)30 km
(c)90 km
(d)360 km
8.A printer starts a job with 480 sheets of paper loaded and prints at a steady rate. The number of sheets left, S, after t minutes is given by S = 480 − 24t. Work out how many minutes it takes for the paper to run out completely.
(a)20
(b)456
(c)0.05
(d)480
9.Write 1/5 as a percentage.
(a)20%
(b)5%
(c)50%
(d)25%
10.Quadrilateral WXYZ has WX parallel to ZY, and WZ = XY (the two non-parallel sides are equal in length). Give a reason why angle W = angle X.
(a)Isosceles trapezium: base angles are equal
(b)Rhombus: all four angles are equal
(c)Kite: one pair of opposite angles equal
(d)Parallelogram: opposite angles are equal
11.Two fair coins are thrown together 400 times. Work out how many of the 400 throws you would expect to give one head and one tail.
(a)100
(b)200
(c)133
(d)300
12.Work out 100 − 4 × 5²
(a)0
(b)2400
(c)60
(d)−300
13.The formula for the perimeter of a square is P = 4s, where s is the side length. Make s the subject of the formula.
(a)s = P − 4
(b)s = P + 4
(c)s = P / 4
(d)s = 4P
14.A recipe for pastry uses flour and butter in the ratio 3:2. A baker has 180 g of butter and wants to make pastry using all of it. Work out the total mass of pastry the baker can make.
(a)300 g
(b)540 g
(c)450 g
(d)270 g
15.Triangle T has a vertex at (8, 4). It is enlarged by a scale factor of 1/2, centre (2, 4). Work out the coordinates of the image of this vertex.
(a)(5, 4)
(b)(14, 4)
(c)(8, 2)
(d)(4, 2)
16.Write 0.45 as a fraction in its simplest form.
(a)9/20
(b)9/2
(c)9/100
(d)9/200
17.Harry will spend at most £150 on a party. The cake costs £60 and each helium balloon costs £3. Solve an inequality to find all the possible numbers of balloons, x, that he can buy.
(a)x ≥ 30
(b)x ≤ 50
(c)x ≤ 90
(d)x ≤ 30
18.A journey takes 4 hours at an average speed of 60 km/h. The time taken is inversely proportional to the average speed. Work out how long the same journey takes at an average speed of 80 km/h.
(a)4 hours
(b)2 hours 40 minutes
(c)3 hours
(d)5 hours 20 minutes
19.Write 200 as a product of its prime factors, using index notation.
(a)2 × 5³
(b)2³ × 5
(c)2² × 5³
(d)2³ × 5²
20.A recipe requires flour and butter in the ratio 3 : 2. Write down which of these amounts could be used in the recipe.
(a)180 g flour and 120 g butter
(b)120 g flour and 180 g butter
(c)180 g flour and 90 g butter
(d)180 g flour and 140 g butter

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.