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%.

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GCSE Higher sample Paper 2 (calculator)

Maths · GCSE Higher · Paper 2 · Calculator · 20 questions

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1.The highest common factor of two numbers is 4 and their lowest common multiple is 60. One of the numbers is 20. Work out the other number.
(a)12
(b)240
(c)16
(d)15
2.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.
(a)£1700
(b)£1500
(c)£2300
(d)£2000
3.An oven is preheating. Its temperature, T °C, is plotted against time, t minutes, on a straight-line graph. The line passes through the points (2, 60) and (6, 140). Work out the gradient of the line.
(a)−20
(b)30
(c)40
(d)20
4.Triangle T has a vertex at (2, 1). It is enlarged by a scale factor of 3, centre (0, 0). Work out the coordinates of the image of this vertex.
(a)(6, 1)
(b)(2, 3)
(c)(5, 4)
(d)(6, 3)
5.At a youth club, 65 members are asked which sports they play. 27 play football, 21 play basketball, and 9 play both. Work out the number of members who play neither sport.
(a)17
(b)8
(c)26
(d)39
6.A box plot for the amount of pocket money, in pounds, saved by 30 students in a month is based on a lower quartile of £18 and an upper quartile of £42. A value above upper quartile + 1.5 × interquartile range is considered an outlier. Amara saved £80 in the month. Determine whether Amara's saving is an outlier.
(a)No — £80 is below the boundary, £132, adding the quartiles to get the IQR
(b)Yes — £80 is above £66, using the IQR once only
(c)Yes — £80 is above the boundary, £78
(d)Yes — £80 is above the upper quartile, £42
7.Nadia has £84. She spends 3/7 of it on a jacket and the rest on a bag. Work out the ratio of the amount spent on the jacket to the amount spent on the bag, in its simplest form.
(a)4:3
(b)1:1
(c)3:4
(d)3:7
8.The formula for converting a temperature in Fahrenheit, F, to Celsius, C, is C = 5(F − 32) ÷ 9. Work out C, to 1 decimal place, when F = 98.6.
(a)119.9
(b)54.8
(c)66.6
(d)37.0
9.Order these three values from smallest to largest: 3/8, 0.43, 41%.
(a)3/8, 41%, 0.43
(b)0.43, 41%, 3/8
(c)3/8, 0.43, 41%
(d)41%, 0.43, 3/8
10.A party hat is in the shape of a cone with a base radius of 6 cm and a slant height of 10 cm. Work out the curved surface area of the party hat. Use π = 3.14 and the formula curved surface area = πrl.
(a)188.4 cm²
(b)376.8 cm²
(c)113.04 cm²
(d)60 cm²
11.Grace rolls two ordinary fair dice at the same time and works out the total of the two scores. Work out the probability that the total is greater than 10.
(a)33/36
(b)4/36
(c)2/36
(d)3/36
12.Work out the value of 6² − 4³.
(a)100
(b)28
(c)−28
(d)0
13.A graph shows the total monthly cost of a mobile phone tariff against the number of minutes of calls. The line starts at £12 and stays level until 200 minutes, then rises by 5p for each further minute of calls. Use the graph to work out the total cost of a month in which 250 minutes of calls are made.
(a)£14.50
(b)£13.50
(c)£12.50
(d)£24.50
14.In a bag the ratio of red counters to blue counters is 7 : 4. Write the number of red counters as a fraction of the number of blue counters.
(a)11/7
(b)7/11
(c)4/7
(d)7/4
15.A fan-shaped rug is in the shape of a sector of a circle with radius 4 m and angle 180°. It costs £4 per square metre to make. Using π = 3.14, work out the total cost of the rug.
(a)£50.24
(b)£25.12
(c)£200.96
(d)£100.48
16.The table shows the speed, in m/s, of a car at times, in seconds, all 2 seconds apart: 0 at t = 0, 3 at t = 2, 8 at t = 4, 15 at t = 6, 24 at t = 8. A student uses the trapezium rule with these five readings to estimate the distance the car travels. By finding the second differences of the speed values, decide whether this trapezium estimate is an overestimate or an underestimate of the true distance.
(a)Underestimate — second differences are constant.
(b)Overestimate — the speed values are increasing.
(c)Underestimate — the curve bends upward (convex).
(d)Overestimate — the curve bends upward (convex).
17.The price of a cycling helmet rises from £80 to £116. Work out the percentage increase.
(a)45%
(b)145%
(c)36%
(d)31%
18.A triangle has vertices A(0, 0), B(10, 0) and C(5, 12). Work out the area of the triangle.
(a)120 units²
(b)60 units²
(c)30 units²
(d)65 units²
19.Work out the gradient of the straight line with equation 2x + y = 8.
(a)−1/2
(b)8
(c)2
(d)−2
20.There are 30 students in a Year 10 maths class. There are 2 more boys than girls. Work out the number of boys and the number of girls.
(a)15 boys and 15 girls
(b)17 boys and 13 girls
(c)14 boys and 16 girls
(d)16 boys and 14 girls

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.