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 crowd of 8,400 people is recorded correct to the nearest 100. Work out the smallest possible number of people in the crowd.
- 2.The graph of y = (x − 2)(x + 5) crosses the x-axis at two points. Work out the x-coordinates of these two points.
- 3.A bottle contains 1.5 litres of juice. Given that 1 litre = 1000 ml, work out the capacity of the bottle in millilitres.
- 4.Shape S has a vertex at (9, 6). It is enlarged by a scale factor of 1/3, centre the origin. Work out the coordinates of the image of this vertex.
- 5.Two ordinary fair dice are rolled. Work out the probability that the difference between the two scores is 1.
- 6.A straight line is drawn on a scatter graph to show the trend of the points. Write down the name given to this line.
- 7.Work out 4π + 2π, giving your answer as a multiple of π.
- 8.The diagram shows the graph of , together with the horizontal line . Use the graphs to estimate, to 1 decimal place, the two solutions of .
- 9.In a test, Amelia answered 18 of the 24 questions correctly. Work out the percentage of the questions she answered correctly.
- 10.A transversal crosses a pair of parallel lines. At one line, the angle is (5x + 4)°. The corresponding angle at the other line is (3x + 24)°. Work out the value of x.
- 11.A frequency tree records 320 calls to a helpline. The calls first split into calls about billing and calls about technical support. Of the technical support calls, the probability that a call was resolved on the first contact is 0.75. If 180 technical support calls were resolved on the first contact, work out how many calls were about billing.
- 12.A bag of flour is labelled 1.5 kg, correct to the nearest 0.1 kg. The true mass of the flour is m kg. Which inequality gives all the possible values of m?
- 13.Solve 2(x + 3) = 10
- 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.In triangle XYZ, the side opposite vertex X is labelled using the standard lowercase-letter convention. Which label is correct?
- 16.Write 0.45 as a fraction in its simplest form.
- 17.Solve the inequality 6.3x + 1.8 ≤ 40. Hence write down the greatest number with exactly one decimal place that satisfies the inequality.
- 18.A colony of bacteria has 400 bacteria. The number increases by 15% each hour. Work out the number of bacteria after 1 hour.
- 19.Work out (5 + 2) × 3²
- 20.A sunflower is 140 cm tall. A tomato plant is 80 cm tall. Write the height of the tomato plant as a fraction of the height of the sunflower, giving your answer in its simplest form.
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.