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.Nadia has £84. She spends 3/7 of it on a jacket and the rest on a bag. Work out the ratio of the amount spent on the jacket to the amount spent on the bag, in its simplest form.
- 2.Which expression is equivalent to 6x − (2x − 5)?
- 3.5 tins of soup cost £8 in total. Work out the multiplier that changes the number of tins into the total cost in pounds.
- 4.p is the column vector with top number 2 and bottom number 3. q is the column vector with top number −1 and bottom number 4. Work out 2p + q, giving your answer as a column vector in the form (top, bottom).
- 5.A spinner lands on red, on blue or on green, and it cannot land on more than one colour at a time. The probability that it lands on red is 0.3 and the probability that it lands on blue is 0.5. Work out the probability that it lands on red or on blue.
- 6.A timetable shows the departure times of a bus from Leeds to Harrogate: 08:15, 08:50, 09:25, 10:05, 10:40. Chloe arrives at the bus stop at 09:30. Work out how many minutes she has to wait for the next bus.
- 7.Write the mixed number 2 1/4 as an improper fraction.
- 8.A graph has equation y = x² − 6x + 5. A student says its turning point has x-coordinate 6, because that's the coefficient of x. Which statement corrects the student's mistake?y = x² − 6x + 5
- 9.After a 20% discount, a jacket costs £48. Work out the original price of the jacket.
- 10.A sector of a circle has radius 8 cm and takes up three-quarters of the full circle. Work out the perimeter of the sector, in terms of π.
- 11.A biased spinner is spun 200 times. It lands on red 70 times, on blue 50 times, and on green 80 times. Using these results, work out the expected number of times the spinner does NOT land on red, in 500 spins of the same spinner.
- 12.Work out 8% of £250.
- 13.The point (−4, 7) is moved 4 units to the right and 9 units down. Write down the coordinates of the point it reaches.
- 14.£1 is worth 1.25 US dollars. Write the ratio of pounds to dollars in its simplest form, using whole numbers.
- 15.Which of the following is the correct definition of a regular polygon?
- 16.Write these three numbers in order, starting with the smallest: 3/5, 0.55, 58%
- 17.Write down the coordinates of the point that is 4 units to the left of the origin and 7 units up.
- 18.A force of 250 N acts on an area of 0.5 m². Using pressure = force ÷ area, work out the pressure, in pascals.
- 19.A company's turnover is 5.6 × 10⁷ pounds, spread evenly across 3.5 × 10² shops. Work out the average turnover per shop, in standard form.
- 20.The exchange rate is £1 = 1.28 US dollars. Convert £350 into US dollars.
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.