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.Tickets for a fairground ride are sold in packs of 6. Tokens for the dodgems are sold in packs of 10. Yusuf wants to buy the smallest number of packs of each so that he ends up with the same number of ride tickets as dodgem tokens. Work out how many ride tickets that is.
- 2.Kai writes the expression 8 − 3x + 5x² and says it has three terms. Ryan says it only has two terms because a number on its own is not a term. Work out the correct number of terms in the expression.
- 3.A prize fund of £240 is shared between two winners in the ratio 3 : 5. Write the smaller winner's share as a fraction of the whole prize fund.
- 4.A photocopier enlarges a document so that every length is multiplied by the same scale factor. A line on the original document is 3.2 cm long, and the same line measures 11.2 cm on the enlarged copy. A second line on the original document is 2.5 cm long. Work out the length of the second line on the enlarged copy, giving your answer to 2 decimal places.
- 5.A pack contains 6 cards, numbered 1 to 6. A card is drawn at random from the pack, and a fair coin is flipped. Work out the probability of drawing an even-numbered card and the coin landing on tails.
- 6.A study found that people who drink more coffee tend to concentrate better at work. A coffee company says that this shows that drinking coffee improves concentration. Give the reason why this conclusion cannot be drawn.
- 7.Four locations each record a temperature one winter morning. Which of these temperatures is the coldest?
- 8.Which expression is equivalent to 3(2x − 5) + 4x?
- 9.A tray holds 8 muffins and 20 cupcakes. Write the ratio of the number of muffins to the number of cupcakes in its simplest form.
- 10.Here are four trigonometric ratios of special angles. Write down the one that does not have a value.
- 11.A leisure centre has 150 members. 80 of the members are male and the rest are female. Every member uses either the pool or the gym, but not both. 66 members use the pool, and 35 of those pool users are male. Work out how many female members use the gym.
- 12.Work out 1 − 1/2 − 1/4 − 1/8 − 1/16. Give your answer as a fraction.
- 13.The nth term of a sequence is 2n − 1. Work out the 6th term of the sequence.
- 14.Write the ratio 6a : 9a in its simplest form, where a is a positive number.
- 15.Write down the column vector that describes a translation of 5 units to the left and 3 units down.
- 16.A car is hired from 10:00 on Monday until 16:00 on Thursday. Work out the total length of the hire, in hours.
- 17.Which expression is equivalent to 5x − (x + 3)?
- 18.Water flows into a tank at a constant rate. After 8 minutes the tank holds 200 litres. Write the ratio of time in minutes to volume in litres, in its simplest form.
- 19.Work out −6 × (−3).
- 20.Work out the value of x when 4/x = 2/5.
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.