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.A digital timer truncates every time to 1 decimal place. It shows a swimmer's time for one length as 12.3 seconds. Using t for the swimmer's actual time in seconds, write down the error interval for t.
- 2.A currency conversion graph shows that £4 is equivalent to 5 US dollars. Use this to work out how many US dollars are equivalent to £24.
- 3.A cyclist travels 18 km in 45 minutes. Work out the average speed, in km/h.
- 4.A solid has 4 triangular faces, 4 vertices and 6 edges. What is the name of this solid?
- 5.The probability that Priya scores with a netball shot is 3/4. She takes two shots, and the shots are independent. Work out the probability that she scores with her first shot but misses her second shot.
- 6.Four books have 120, 200, 160 and 80 pages. Work out the mean number of pages.
- 7.The attendance at a football match is 23,000, correct to the nearest thousand. Which of these attendances is not possible for the match?
- 8.Which of these rules generates the sequence 6, 11, 16, 21, …?
- 9.Two quantities x and y are inversely proportional. When x = 2, the value of y is 15. Work out the value of y when x = 5.
- 10.The diagram shows a solid made from two cuboids joined together. Which shape is the front elevation of this solid?
- 11.A two-way table records how 80 students travel to school. 45 of the students are boys and the rest are girls. 27 of the boys walk to school. Work out the probability, as a fraction, that a student chosen at random from the boys walks to school.
- 12.Write these numbers in order, starting with the smallest: 5, −8, 0, −3, 2
- 13.A sequence has the position-to-term rule n² − 3, where n is the position number. Work out the difference between the 6th term and the 5th term.
- 14.The density of a type of wood is 0.8 g/cm³. Work out the mass of a piece of this wood with a volume of 150 cm³.
- 15.Two triangular offcuts of wood, PQR and STU, are cut for a construction project. PQ = 8 cm, QR = 6 cm and angle PQR = 90°. ST = 8 cm, TU = 6 cm and angle STU = 90°. A carpenter wants to check the two pieces are identical in shape and size before using them as a matching pair. Using only the measurements given, and without working out any further lengths, which condition proves that triangle PQR is congruent to triangle STU?
- 16.Work out √144 − 2 × 3 + √25
- 17.A student says that 5(x + 2) is equivalent to 5x + 2. Which statement explains why the student is wrong?
- 18.y is directly proportional to x. If the value of x is trebled (multiplied by 3), what happens to the value of y?
- 19.Work out (5 + 2) × 3²
- 20.A colony of bacteria has 400 bacteria. The number increases by 15% each hour. Work out the number of bacteria after 1 hour.
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.