Sample paper · GCSE Higher · grades 4–9
GCSE Higher 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 Higher qualification — number 15%, algebra 30%, ratio, proportion and rates of change 20%, geometry and measures 20%, probability 7.5%, statistics 7.5% — with a calculator allowed. AO1 / AO2 / AO3 at this tier: 40% / 30% / 30%.
CalculatorGCSE Higher
GCSE Higher sample Paper 2 (calculator)
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- 1.A café buys 18 boxes of teabags at £3.45 each, and sells all the teabags for £108 in total. Work out the café's profit.
- 2.A train's distance-time graph shows it travelling 100 km at a steady speed in the first 1.5 hours, waiting at a signal for 0.25 hours, then travelling a further 47 km in 0.75 hours. Work out the average speed for the whole journey, correct to 1 decimal place.
- 3.Write the ratio 2 : 1/4 as a ratio of whole numbers in its simplest form.
- 4.Point P(2, 5) is enlarged with centre (2, 1) to give image point P′(2, −7). Work out the scale factor of the enlargement.
- 5.Spinner A has 4 equal sections, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4. Spinner B has 3 equal sections, coloured red, red and blue. Both spinners are spun once. Work out the probability of getting an even number on Spinner A and red on Spinner B.
- 6.Amelia's mean mark over four tests is 29. Her first three marks are 31, 26 and 26. Work out her fourth mark.
- 7.Simplify (y³)⁴, giving your answer as a single power of y.
- 8.Meera writes the statement 3(x + 4) = 3x + 12. Which of these correctly describes what she has written, with a reason?
- 9.A shade of paint is made by mixing blue paint and white paint. To make 5 litres of the shade, 2 litres of blue paint is used and the rest is white paint. Write the ratio of blue paint to white paint in its simplest form.
- 10.A cube has edges of length 5 cm. Work out the length of the diagonal that runs from one corner of the cube to the opposite corner. Give your answer as a surd in its simplest form.
- 11.In a year group of 60 pupils, 25 play football, 18 play tennis and 8 play both football and tennis. A pupil who plays football or tennis or both is picked at random. Work out the probability that this pupil plays both sports.
- 12.A number is divided by 5, then 6 is subtracted, giving the result −1. Work out the number.
- 13.Solve 2x + 7 = x + 13
- 14.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.
- 15.A sprinkler waters a sector-shaped patch of a garden with radius 8 m and angle 90°. Work out the perimeter of the watered sector, to 1 decimal place. (Use π = 3.14.)
- 16.The graph of y = x² − 5x + 6 crosses the x-axis at two points. By factorising, work out the x-coordinates of these two points.y = x² − 5x + 6
- 17.A map has a scale of 1 : 40 000. A cycle path measures 7.5 cm on the map. Work out the real length of the cycle path, in kilometres.
- 18.A trapezium has vertices (0, 2), (4, 2), (3, 5) and (1, 5). It is rotated 180° about the point (2, 2), and the image is then translated by the vector (1, −5). Work out the coordinates of the image of (0, 2).
- 19.Solve the simultaneous equations 5x − 2y = 16 and 3x + 2y = 16. Work out the value of x.
- 20.A straight line has gradient 3 and passes through the point (1, 4). Work out the equation of the line.
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.