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 weather app records the temperature at three points in one day: 6 °C at noon, −2 °C at midnight, and −7 °C just before dawn. Work out the difference between the highest and lowest of these three temperatures.
- 2.Factorise 6x² − 7x − 3.
- 3.A car travels for 3 hours at an average speed of 80 km/h and then for 1 hour at an average speed of 40 km/h. Work out the average speed for the whole journey.
- 4.A parallelogram has an area of 136 cm² and a base of 17 cm. Work out the perpendicular height of the parallelogram.
- 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.A stacked bar for one day at a café in Norwich shows total drink sales of 50 drinks, split into three parts: 22 were tea, 15 were coffee and the rest were hot chocolate. Work out the number of hot chocolates sold.
- 7.A 3-character PIN starts with one letter chosen from A, B, C, D and E, followed by two different digits chosen from 1 to 9 (no digit may be used twice in the same PIN). Work out how many different PINs are possible.
- 8.f(x) = x + 3 and g(x) = 2x. Work out fg(x).y = x + 3
- 9.The density of a type of solid plastic is 0.9 g/cm³. Work out the mass of 0.5 m³ of the plastic, in kilograms.
- 10.A water tank is a cube with edges of length 2 m. Work out how many cubic centimetres the tank holds when it is full.
- 11.Two ordinary fair dice are rolled and the two scores are added together. Work out the probability that the total is a prime number.
- 12.A number, y, is equal to 8.2 when rounded to 1 decimal place. Write down the error interval for y.
- 13.The equation x³ + 4x − 9 = 0 is to be solved by iteration. Work out which one of these iterative formulas comes from a correct rearrangement of that equation.
- 14.A beaker holds 500 g of a salt solution of concentration 12%. Pure water is added until the concentration falls to 8%. Work out the mass of water added.
- 15.The point A(3, 2) is translated by the vector (−5, 4) to give point B. Work out the coordinates of B.
- 16.A rectangular garden has width w metres and length (w + 3) metres. A gardener writes its perimeter as 2w + 3. Which statement corrects the gardener's mistake?
- 17.The price of a games console is reduced by 10%. In a later sale the reduced price is reduced by 10% again. Work out the overall percentage decrease.
- 18.In triangle ABC, point D lies on side AB and point E lies on side AC, so that DE is parallel to BC. AD = 3 cm, DB = 6 cm and DE = 4 cm. Work out the length of BC.
- 19.The function f(x) = x² for all real values of x has no inverse function, but g(x) = x² for x ≥ 0 does have one. Which statement correctly explains this?y = x²
- 20.The point (4, 2) lies on the circle x² + y² = 20. Work out the equation of the tangent to the circle at (4, 2).
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.