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.Which of these statements about −0.7 and −0.25 is true?
- 2.Solve x² − 5x + 6 = 0 by factorising.
- 3.Ffion is paid £11.20 per hour. She works 6 hours on Monday and 4.5 hours on Tuesday. Work out her total pay for the two days.
- 4.A solid has 10 vertices and 15 edges. Using the formula F + V − E = 2, work out how many faces it has.
- 5.Four students each drop a drawing pin repeatedly to estimate the probability that it lands point-up. Freya makes 20 drops, Malik makes 50 drops, Priya makes 200 drops and Tom makes 80 drops. Which student's relative frequency is likely to give the best estimate of the true probability?
- 6.Five pupils spent these numbers of minutes on their homework: 50, 65, 55, 90, 60. Work out the median time.
- 7.Write down the reciprocal of 0.2
- 8.Work out the value of a² − 2b when a = −3 and b = 4.
- 9.Leah puts £4000 into a savings account paying 3% compound interest each year. At the end of 2 years she takes out all of the money and spends £1500 of it on a laptop. Work out how much of the money she has left.
- 10.A solid has a plan view that is a circle, and a front elevation that is a triangle. Which solid is this?
- 11.At a leisure centre, 50 members are asked which activities they do. 32 do yoga, 24 do pilates, and 11 do both. Work out how many members do yoga only, and not pilates.
- 12.A box stands on a table. The box exerts a force of 240 N on the table, and the base of the box has an area of 0.8 m². Work out the pressure the box exerts on the table, in N/m².
- 13.A student is asked whether 3(x − 4) = 3x − 4 is an identity. Which statement gives the correct verdict and reason?
- 14.Two taxi firms show their charges on straight-line graphs, with the cost in pounds on the vertical axis and the distance in miles on the horizontal axis. Firm A's line passes through (0, 4) and (5, 14). Firm B's line passes through (0, 6) and (5, 21). Work out which firm charges more per mile.
- 15.Three angles lie on a straight line. They measure 38°, 95° and x°. Work out the value of x.
- 16.A jug holds 1.8 litres of juice. Priya pours out 3/4 of a litre to fill a glass. Work out how much juice is left in the jug, in millilitres.
- 17.Make x the subject of the formula y = 4x − 3.y = 4x − 3
- 18.A parcel of flour has a mass of 750 g. A sack of flour has a mass of 4 kg. Write the mass of the parcel as a fraction of the mass of the sack. Give your answer in its simplest form.
- 19.Put these numbers in order, starting with the smallest: 3.2 × 10⁴, 2.9 × 10⁵, 4.1 × 10³
- 20.A force of 20 N acts on an area of 4 m². Using pressure = force ÷ area, work out the pressure, in pascals.
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.