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.Amelia has 49 boxes of apples with 21 apples in each box. Work out an estimate for the total number of apples, by rounding each number to 1 significant figure.
- 2.Which of these is a formula, rather than an expression, an equation, or an identity?
- 3.To make orange paint, red and yellow paint are mixed in the ratio 6:15. Write the amount of red paint as a fraction of the amount of yellow paint, in its simplest form.
- 4.Triangle JKL and triangle MNP are similar, with JK ÷ MN = JL ÷ MP = 2. A student says triangle JKL must be congruent to triangle MNP. Write down why the student is wrong.
- 5.At a summer fair, the probability of winning at the hoopla stall is 6/10 and the probability of winning at the coconut shy is 2/10. Work out how many times as likely a player is to win at the hoopla stall as at the coconut shy.
- 6.Four pairs of variables are listed below. Write down the pair that you would expect to show negative correlation.
- 7.In a chess club, 3/8 of the members are girls and the rest are boys. Write down the ratio of girls to boys.
- 8.Two numbers have a sum of 24. Their difference is 6. Work out the two numbers.
- 9.The ratio of the number of red beads to blue beads in a bracelet is 3 : 7. There are 21 blue beads. Work out the number of red beads.
- 10.A sector of a circle has radius 10 cm and angle 72°. Using π = 3.14, work out the arc length of the sector.
- 11.120 people took a driving theory test. A frequency tree records the results. The first pair of branches splits the 120 people into 70 men and 50 women. On the men's branch, 45 passed and the rest failed. On the women's branch, 38 passed and the rest failed. Work out how many of the 120 people failed the test.
- 12.Write 0.325 as a fraction in its simplest form.
- 13.A rule turns each input x into an output y. The inputs are x = 1, 2, 3, 4 and the matching outputs are y = −5, −3, −1 and one missing value. Work out the missing value of y.
- 14.It takes 2 identical pumps 10 hours to empty a flooded basement. Working at the same rate, work out how many hours 5 of these pumps would take to empty the same basement.
- 15.Two straight lines PQ and RS cross at point O. Angle POR = 52°. Work out angle QOS.
- 16.A car is hired from 10:00 on Monday until 16:00 on Thursday. Work out the total length of the hire, in hours.
- 17.Solve 5(x + 3) = 40
- 18.A force of 126 N acts on an area of 3.5 m². Work out the pressure on the area, in N/m².
- 19.A gardener has 42 tulip bulbs and 56 daffodil bulbs. She plants them in rows, with every row containing the same number of tulip bulbs and the same number of daffodil bulbs, and no bulbs left over. Work out the greatest number of rows she can plant.
- 20.The number of members of a running club increases from 45 to 54. Work out the percentage increase.
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.