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 country has an area of 25,000,000 hectares. Write this area in standard form.
- 2.A straight line passes through the points (2, 5) and (4, 11). Work out the gradient of the line.
- 3.The density of a type of wood is 0.8 g/cm³. Work out the mass of a piece of this wood with a volume of 150 cm³.
- 4.A ladder of length 7 m leans against a vertical wall. The foot of the ladder is 3 m from the base of the wall. Work out how high up the wall the ladder reaches. Give your answer correct to 1 decimal place.
- 5.In a survey of 45 students, 22 said they like reading, 18 said they like gaming, and 6 said they like both. Work out how many students like exactly one of reading or gaming.
- 6.A scatter graph plots the number of years, x, that 20 employees have worked at a company against their salary, y. All the plotted points lie between x = 1 and x = 15. Write down the word used to describe an estimate for y made using a value of x that lies between 1 and 15.
- 7.Work out (8 × 10⁻⁵) × (5 × 10³). Give your answer in standard form.
- 8.The nth term of a sequence is n² + 3. Work out the first term of the sequence that is greater than 50.
- 9.Write the ratio 2 : 1/4 as a ratio of whole numbers in its simplest form.
- 10.A sprinkler waters a sector-shaped patch of a garden with radius 8 m and angle 90°. Work out the perimeter of the watered sector, to 1 decimal place. (Use π = 3.14.)
- 11.An archer hits the bullseye with probability 0.24 on any one shot. She wants to know how many shots she must take to expect to hit the bullseye 12 times. Work out how many shots this is.
- 12.Oliver uses his calculator to work out 25% of 80 and writes down 320. Without using a calculator, work out the correct value of 25% of 80.
- 13.Mia buys 3 identical notebooks and a pen costing £1.50. She pays a total of £9.90. Form an equation using n for the cost of one notebook, and solve it to find n.
- 14.1 litre = 100 centilitres. Work out how many centilitres there are in 6 litres.
- 15.A circular tabletop has a radius of 15 cm. Work out the area of the tabletop. Use π = 3.14. Give your answer to 1 decimal place.
- 16.Work out 6² − 4².
- 17.Given that (x + 2)(x − 7) = 0, write down the two solutions of x.
- 18.A recipe for 4 people needs 300 g of rice. Work out how much rice is needed for 6 people, assuming the amount is in direct proportion to the number of people.
- 19.The attendance at a football match is 23,000, correct to the nearest thousand. Which of these attendances is not possible for the match?
- 20.A map's scale is given as '1 cm represents 2 km'. Write this scale in the form 1 : n.
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.