GCSE Higher sample Paper 1 (non-calculator)

1.Rationalise the denominator of 10/(4 − √6), giving your answer in its simplest form.

2.A student attempts to prove that the product of two consecutive integers is always even: (i) Let the two consecutive integers be n and n + 1. (ii) Since n(n + 1) is even, one of n and n + 1 must be an even number. (iii) Therefore, n(n + 1) is even. At which statement does the proof first assume the very fact it is trying to prove?

3.Aisha invests £3200 in Account A, which pays 5% compound interest each year. She also invests £3200 in Account B, which pays 3% simple interest each year. Work out how much more Account A is worth than Account B after 2 years.

4.u is the column vector with top number 5 and bottom number 1. v is the column vector with top number 2 and bottom number 4. Work out u − v, giving your answer as a column vector in the form (top, bottom).

5.A garage tested 200 cars in one week. 70% of the cars were more than 3 years old and the rest were 3 years old or less. Of the cars more than 3 years old, 1 in 4 failed the test. 12 of the cars that were 3 years old or less failed the test. Work out how many of the 200 cars failed the test altogether.

6.The times, t minutes, taken by 80 people to travel to work are grouped like this: 0 ≤ t < 10, 6 people; 10 ≤ t < 20, 14 people; 20 ≤ t < 30, 25 people; 30 ≤ t < 40, 20 people; 40 ≤ t < 50, 15 people. Work out the cumulative frequency for t < 30.

7.Light travels at 3 × 10⁸ metres per second. Work out how far light travels in 2 × 10⁻⁶ seconds. Give your answer in standard form.

8.A circle has centre (0, 0) and equation x² + y² = 8. Work out the radius of the circle, giving your answer as a surd in its simplest form.

9.A post 2 metres tall casts a shadow 3 metres long. At the same time a nearby tree casts a shadow 12 metres long. Work out the height of the tree.

10.A tangent touches a circle with centre O at the point P. Q is a point on the tangent. Write down the circle fact that tells you the size of angle OPQ.

11.A red dice and a blue dice are rolled. Both dice are ordinary and fair. Work out the probability of getting a 1 on the red dice and a 2 on the blue dice.

12.Work out 2 3/4 − 1 5/6. Give your answer as a fraction in its simplest form.

13.Solve the inequality x² ≥ 16, giving your answer using set notation.

14.A shop's takings were £4500 in May. In June the takings fell by £900. Write the June takings as a fraction of the May takings, in its simplest form.

15.AB is a diameter of a circle with centre O, and C is a point on the circle. A student writes four statements to prove that angle ACB = 90°. Statement 1: OA = OC, since both are radii, so triangle OAC is isosceles with angle OAC = angle OCA. Statement 2: OB = OC, since both are radii, so triangle OBC is isosceles with angle OBC = angle OCB. Statement 3: in triangle ABC, the three angles sum to 360°, so angle OAC + angle OBC + angle ACB = 360°, meaning 2 × angle ACB = 360° and angle ACB = 180°. Statement 4: A, O and B lie on a straight line, since AB is a diameter through the centre O. Which one of these four statements is mathematically incorrect?

16.Work out the gradient of a line that is perpendicular to the line with equation 2x + 3y = 6.

17.A straight-line graph shows the cost, C pounds, of hiring a bike for h hours. The line passes through the points (1, 12) and (4, 27). Which of these statements about the line is true?

18.A kite string makes an angle of 30° with the ground. The kite is flying at a height of 6 m directly above a point on the ground. Using the exact value of sin 30°, work out the exact length of the kite string.

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.f(x) = x³ − 5x − 6. Given that f(2.6) = −1.424 and f(2.7) = 0.183, work out what this shows about the equation x³ − 5x − 6 = 0.