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%.

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GCSE Higher sample Paper 1 (non-calculator)

Maths · GCSE Higher · Paper 1 · Non-calculator · 20 questions

MathsUKwww.geekhero.co.uk

1.A set of kitchen scales displays the mass of a bag of sugar as 0.63 recurring kilograms, meaning 0.636363... kg with the block '63' repeating forever. Convert this mass to a fraction of a kilogram, then work out the mass in grams, giving your answer to the nearest gram.
(a)700 g
(b)626 g
(c)630 g
(d)636 g
2.The nth term of a sequence is 4n − 3. Work out the 7th term of the sequence.
(a)29
(b)25
(c)28
(d)16
3.The price of a cycling helmet rises from £80 to £116. Work out the percentage increase.
(a)45%
(b)145%
(c)36%
(d)31%
4.A packaging designer is told a box has 6 faces, 12 edges and 8 vertices, and every face is a rectangle. To fit exactly onto a shelf, the designer needs to know whether the box must be a cube. Based only on this information, which solid must the box be?
(a)Not enough information
(b)Cuboid — not necessarily a cube
(c)Triangular prism
(d)Cube — only a cube fits this
5.Two pupils each flip the same coin to estimate the probability of heads. Leah flips it 40 times and gets 24 heads. Ben flips it 60 times and gets 33 heads. By combining both pupils' results, work out the relative frequency of heads, giving your answer as a fraction in its simplest form.
(a)3/5
(b)57/100
(c)11/20
(d)23/40
6.The mean of the numbers x, 20 and 30 is equal to the mean of the numbers 15 and 25. Work out the value of x.
(a)20
(b)−10
(c)10
(d)70
7.A florist has 60 red roses and 84 white roses. She wants to make identical bunches using all the flowers, with the greatest possible number of bunches. Work out how many red roses will be in each bunch.
(a)12
(b)7
(c)20
(d)5
8.A student is asked to simplify (6x³ − 15x²)/(4x² − 10x) fully. Four attempts are shown below. Which one is correct?
(a)3x/2
(b)−3x/2
(c)3x²/2
(d)3/2
9.Two cars leave the same point at the same time and travel in opposite directions. One travels at 80 km/h and the other at 60 km/h. Work out how long it takes until the cars are 350 km apart.
(a)5 hours
(b)2.5 hours
(c)17.5 hours
(d)4.375 hours
10.A triangular flag has a base of 40 cm and a perpendicular height of 25 cm. Work out its area.
(a)65 cm²
(b)1,000 cm²
(c)500 cm²
(d)2,000 cm²
11.In a certain town, P(rain on Monday) = 0.3. If it rains on Monday, the probability that it also rains on Tuesday is 0.6. If it does not rain on Monday, the probability that it rains on Tuesday is 0.25. Work out the probability that it rains on Tuesday.
(a)0.495
(b)0.355
(c)0.180
(d)0.175
12.Write 7/12 as a decimal, showing clearly which digit is recurring.
(a)0.588888...
(b)0.58333...
(c)0.585858...
(d)0.58
13.A circle has equation x² + y² = 25. Does the point (3, 4) lie on this circle?
(a)No, because (3 + 4)² = 49, not 25.
(b)Yes, because 3 + 4 = 7, and 7 is less than 25.
(c)No, because 3² + 4² = 17, not 25.
(d)Yes, because 3² + 4² = 25.
14.The amount of fuel left in a car's tank, F litres, is plotted against the distance travelled, d miles, and the points lie on a straight line. The line passes through (0, 45) and (150, 15). Work out the gradient of the line and say what it tells you.
(a)−5, the car uses 5 litres of fuel for each mile
(b)−30, the car uses 30 litres of fuel for each mile
(c)−0.2, the car uses 0.2 litres of fuel for each mile
(d)0.2, the car gains 0.2 litres of fuel for each mile
15.A circle has centre O. PQ, RS and TU are three chords of the circle, and only one of them passes through O. Write down what this tells you about that chord.
(a)It is the same length as the other two chords
(b)It is the longest of the three chords
(c)It is the shortest of the three chords
(d)It is half the length of each of the other two chords
16.An arithmetic sequence has first term 40 and common difference −6. Work out the 9th term of the sequence.
(a)−14
(b)−2
(c)−8
(d)88
17.A cyclist travels d kilometres in t hours. Write down an expression, in terms of d and t, for the cyclist's average speed in km/h.
(a)d + t
(b)d × t
(c)t ÷ d
(d)d ÷ t
18.Square B has vertices (1, 1), (4, 1), (4, 4) and (1, 4). It is rotated 90° clockwise about the origin, and the image is then translated by the vector (2, −1). Work out the coordinates of the image of (4, 1).
(a)(0, −6)
(b)(3, −5)
(c)(1, 3)
(d)(1, −4)
19.Solve 5x² − 15x = 0.
(a)x = 0 or x = 15
(b)x = 3
(c)x = 0 or x = 3
(d)x = 5 or x = 3
20.Solve 5(x + 3) = 40
(a)x = 8
(b)x = 11
(c)x = 7.4
(d)x = 5

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.