Sample paper · GCSE Higher · grades 4–9
GCSE Higher sample Paper 1 (non-calculator)
The real Paper 1 is 1.5 hour 30 minutes and 80 marks, non-calculator, and all three papers carry equal weight. This sample is 20 original questions in the same content proportions as the Higher qualification — number 15%, algebra 30%, ratio, proportion and rates of change 20%, geometry and measures 20%, probability 7.5%, statistics 7.5% — with no calculator-only items. AO1 / AO2 / AO3 at this tier: 40% / 30% / 30%.
Non-calculatorGCSE Higher
GCSE Higher sample Paper 1 (non-calculator)
MathsUKwww.geekhero.co.uk
- 1.Maya buys 4 plants at £3.20 each and a bag of compost for £6.75. She pays with a £20 note. Work out her change.
- 2.Solve 5(x + 3) = 40
- 3.y is directly proportional to x. When x = 7, the value of y is 21. Work out the value of x when y = 12.
- 4.A tile manufacturer cuts a hexagonal tile so that all six sides measure exactly 4 cm, but a check shows only two pairs of the six interior angles are equal to each other, not all six angles. The customer's order specifies regular hexagonal tiles. Based on the check, is this tile a regular hexagon?
- 5.A market stall sells umbrellas. Over the last 250 days, it rained on 70 of them. Using this as an estimate of the probability of rain, work out how many rainy days would be expected in the next 365 days.
- 6.A garden centre's sales, in thousands of pounds, at the end of each quarter last year were: quarter 1 — 18, quarter 2 — 34, quarter 3 — 30, quarter 4 — 22. Work out the increase in sales from quarter 1 to the quarter with the highest sales.
- 7.The distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,000 km. Write this distance in standard form, in kilometres.
- 8.Solve the inequality 3x + 6 ≤ 0.
- 9.The ratio of the number of pages Mia has read to the number of pages Leo has read is 7 : 4. Mia has read 84 pages. Work out how many pages they have read altogether.
- 10.e is the column vector with top number 5 and bottom number k. f is the column vector with top number 15 and bottom number 6. Given that f is 3 times e, work out the value of k.
- 11.The probability that a seed fails to germinate is 1/5. Three seeds are planted independently. Work out the probability that at least one of the three seeds germinates.
- 12.c = 50, correct to the nearest 10. d = 18, correct to the nearest whole number. Work out the upper bound of c − d.
- 13.A stack of firewood has 3 logs in the top layer. Each layer below has 4 more logs than the layer above it. Work out the number of logs in the 6th layer from the top.
- 14.Water flows into a tank at a constant rate. After 8 minutes the tank holds 200 litres. Write the ratio of time in minutes to volume in litres, in its simplest form.
- 15.Point P has coordinates (2, 1). Transformation A reflects a point in the x-axis. Transformation B translates a point by the vector (0, 4). Work out the coordinates of the image of P when A is applied first, followed by B.
- 16.Work out the equation of the straight line that passes through (−2, 3) and (4, −9).
- 17.A shop's profit, P pounds, is in direct proportion to the number of items sold, n. When 15 items are sold, the profit is £45. Write down the ratio n : P in its simplest form for this shop.
- 18.Triangle ABC has a right angle at B and hypotenuse AC = 17 cm, with AB = 8 cm. Triangle DEF has a right angle at E and hypotenuse DF = 17 cm. Which extra fact about DEF would complete the RHS condition for proving that ABC ≅ DEF, with the vertices matching in that order?
- 19.The point (6, 8) lies on the circle x² + y² = 100. Work out the gradient of the tangent to the circle at (6, 8).
- 20.A company's profit is £500 in its first year. Each year after that, the profit is £300 more than the year before. Work out the profit in the company's 6th year.
How the 20 questions are shared out
- Number — 3 questions (15% of the qualification)
- Algebra — 6 questions (30% of the qualification)
- Ratio, proportion and rates of change — 4 questions (20% of the qualification)
- Geometry and measures — 4 questions (20% 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.