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.In a fruit crate the ratio of oranges to lemons is 5 : 6. What fraction of the fruit in the crate are lemons?
- 2.Write down the expression that means the same as 3 × y × y.
- 3.£1 is worth 1.25 US dollars. Write the ratio of pounds to dollars in its simplest form, using whole numbers.
- 4.A cylindrical drum and a cuboid box are being wrapped for a display. A shop assistant wraps only the flat faces of each item, not any curved surface. How many flat faces in total does the assistant wrap across both items?
- 5.A spinner is divided into sectors of 144°, 90° and 126°, coloured purple, orange and grey in that order. The spinner is spun 300 times. Work out how many times you would expect it to land on purple.
- 6.A pie chart is divided into 10 equal sectors. 6 of those sectors stand for the people who chose purple. Altogether 120 people were asked. Work out how many of them chose purple.
- 7.Write these three numbers in order, starting with the smallest: 7/20, 0.3, 32%
- 8.Which of these is an expression?
- 9.A fruit squash is made by mixing squash and water. In a jug, 2/9 of the total volume is squash. A caterer makes up 4.5 litres of the squash mixture. Work out how many litres of squash are in the mixture.
- 10.A solid ball has a radius of 7 cm. Work out the surface area of the ball. Use π = 3.14.
- 11.At a school fête, a stall invites visitors to spin a fair spinner with 8 equal sections numbered 1 to 8, and separately toss a fair coin. A visitor wins a small prize only if the spinner lands on a multiple of 3 and the coin lands on heads. Work out the probability that a visitor wins a prize, giving your answer as a fraction in its simplest form.
- 12.Work out the highest common factor of 15 and 25.
- 13.y = 3x − 2. Work out the value of y when x = 4.y = 3x − 2
- 14.The price of a cycling helmet rises from £80 to £116. Work out the percentage increase.
- 15.A parallelogram has a base of 9 cm and a perpendicular height of 6 cm. Work out the area of the parallelogram.
- 16.The population of a planet is 8 × 10⁹. Write this population as an ordinary number.
- 17.The area of a triangle is given by the formula A = bh/2, where b is the base and h is the height. Make h the subject of the formula.
- 18.A scale drawing of a playground is drawn to a scale of 1 : 300. A slide measures 4 cm on the drawing. Work out the real length of the slide, in centimetres.
- 19.A number, x, is truncated (not rounded) to 1 decimal place and the result is 6.2. Write down the error interval for x.
- 20.£120 is shared between three cousins in the ratio 3:4:5. Work out the largest share.
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.