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 down the fraction, in its simplest form, that is equal to 0.6
- 2.a = 3 and b = 5. Work out the value of a²b.
- 3.The width, the length and the height of a box are in the ratio 3:4:5. The length of the box is 16 cm. Work out the height of the box.
- 4.A trapezium-shaped garden bed has parallel sides of 2.5 m and 4.5 m, and a perpendicular width of 3 m. A gardener wants to know the area of the bed before ordering topsoil. Work out the area of the garden bed.
- 5.Two ordinary fair dice are rolled, one after the other. Work out the probability that the first dice shows a 6 and the second dice shows an even number.
- 6.Seven pupils were asked how many books they had read last month. Their answers were 3, 5, 5, 7, 8, 5, 3. Write down the mode.
- 7.Work out the value of 2⁻⁴
- 8.x = 5. Work out the value of 3x² − 4.
- 9.Two quantities x and y are in the ratio x : y = 2 : 5, and y = kx for a constant k. Work out the value of k.
- 10.A water tank holds 2.5 m³. Work out this volume in cm³.
- 11.A charity raffle sells 250 tickets. A group of friends buy 40 of the tickets between them. Three prizes are awarded, each to a different randomly drawn ticket, and no ticket can win more than one prize. Work out the expected number of prizes won by the group. Give your answer as a fraction in its simplest form.
- 12.Work out 2/3 × 3/4 exactly, giving your answer in its simplest form.
- 13.There are 30 students in a Year 10 maths class. There are 2 more boys than girls. Work out the number of boys and the number of girls.
- 14.A bag of potatoes has a mass of 3 kg. A bag of carrots has a mass of 5 kg. Write the mass of the potatoes as a fraction of the mass of the carrots.
- 15.In kite WXYZ, WX = WZ and XY = ZY (so at each of X and Z, one side from each of the two unequal pairs meets). Angle X = 100°. Work out angle Z.
- 16.Four weather stations each recorded their lowest overnight temperature. Which of these readings is the lowest?
- 17.Write down the first four terms of the sequence with nth term 6n − 5.
- 18.A rectangular room is drawn on a plan with a scale of 1 : 50. On the plan, the room measures 8 cm by 6 cm. Work out the real area of the room, in square metres.
- 19.A laptop costs £720. A carrying case for it costs 1/9 of the price of the laptop. Work out the cost of the carrying case.
- 20.A river 120 km long is drawn as a line 6 cm long on a map. Work out the scale of the map.
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.