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 window display has red baubles, gold baubles and green baubles in the ratio 4 : 5 : 6. What fraction of the baubles are not green?
- 2.A curve has equation y = x² − 9. Which statement about its graph is correct?y = x² − 9
- 3.Two numbers a and b are in the ratio a : b = 3 : 4. Given that a = 15, work out the value of b.
- 4.Point A has coordinates (2, 5). Point A is translated to point B using the column vector with top number 6 and bottom number −3. Write down the coordinates of point B.
- 5.A card is taken at random from an ordinary pack of 52 playing cards. The probability that the card is a diamond is 1/4. Work out the probability that the card is not a diamond.
- 6.A scatter graph shows the number of guests, x, at a wedding and the length of buffet table needed, y metres. The line of best fit is y = 0.5x + 2. Write down what the 2 in this equation tells you about the buffet table.y = 0.5x + 2
- 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.A colony of bacteria doubles in number every hour. At 9am there are 5 bacteria in the colony. Work out how many bacteria there will be at 12 noon.
- 9.The density of a liquid is 0.92 g/cm³. Work out the density of the liquid in kg/m³.
- 10.An isosceles trapezium has exactly one pair of parallel sides, and its two non-parallel sides are equal in length. How many lines of symmetry does it have?
- 11.Harry plays a game in which he flips a fair coin and rolls an ordinary fair dice. He wins a prize only if the coin shows heads and the dice shows a 6. Work out the probability that Harry wins a prize.
- 12.Work out (6 × 10⁷) + (3 × 10⁶). Give your answer in standard form.
- 13.y = 5 − 2x. Work out the value of x when y = 11.
- 14.Paint costs £14.40 for every 20 m² of wall it covers. Assuming the same rate, work out the cost of the paint needed to cover 56 m² of wall.
- 15.A circle has a radius of 3 cm. Work out the diameter of the circle.
- 16.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.
- 17.The formula for the volume of a cuboid is V = lwh, where l is the length, w is the width and h is the height. Make h the subject of the formula.
- 18.Write the ratio 4x : 6x in its simplest form, where x is a positive number.
- 19.Work out an estimate for 37 × 84, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
- 20.A mortar mix is made from sand and cement in the ratio 5 : 3. Write the ratio of sand to the total mix 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.