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.Work out 3.7 × 24.
(a)8.88
(b)88.8
(c)888
(d)87.8
2.A sequence begins at 50, and each term after that is found by subtracting 8 from the term before it. Priya says the 8th term of the sequence is negative. Is Priya correct?
(a)No: the 8th term is 50 − 8 × 6 = 2, which is positive.
(b)Yes, but the 8th term is 50 − 8 × 8 = −14.
(c)No: repeated subtraction from 50 can never go negative.
(d)Yes: the 8th term is 50 − 8 × 7 = −6, which is negative.
3.Two mathematically similar rectangles have widths 5 cm and 10 cm. The perimeter of the smaller rectangle is 18 cm. Work out the perimeter of the larger rectangle.
(a)72 cm
(b)9 cm
(c)36 cm
(d)23 cm
4.Triangle A has a vertex at (1, 2). Triangle A is enlarged, centre (1, 1), to give triangle B, whose corresponding vertex is at (1, 5). Work out the scale factor of the enlargement.
(a)3
(b)4
(c)0.25
(d)2.5
5.A survey of 160 employees at a company recorded whether they cycle to work, using a frequency tree. The first branch splits them into 90 who work full-time and 70 who work part-time. Of the full-time employees, 27 cycle to work. Of the part-time employees, 14 cycle to work. Work out the probability that an employee, chosen at random from the 160, cycles to work. Give your answer as a fraction in its simplest form.
(a)27/160
(b)41/160
(c)1/5
(d)41/90
6.The heights, h cm, of 80 plants are grouped like this: 0 ≤ h < 20, 14 plants; 20 ≤ h < 40, 22 plants; 40 ≤ h < 50, 16 plants; 50 ≤ h < 80, 28 plants. Write down the class interval that contains the lower quartile.
(a)40 ≤ h < 50
(b)50 ≤ h < 80
(c)20 ≤ h < 40
(d)0 ≤ h < 20
7.Write ∛(x²) as a single power of x.
(a)x⁽¹⁄⁶⁾
(b)x⁶
(c)x⁽²⁄³⁾
(d)x⁽³⁄²⁾
8.A geometric sequence has first term 3 and common ratio √3. Work out the position of the first term of the sequence that exceeds 30.
(a)5th term
(b)4th term
(c)7th term
(d)6th term
9.A shop sells fruit juice concentrate that must be diluted with water in the ratio 2 : 5 (concentrate : water) to make squash. Priya has 8 litres of concentrate. Work out how much water she needs to keep the same ratio.
(a)40 litres
(b)3.2 litres
(c)11 litres
(d)20 litres
10.A market stall sells apples at £2.40 per kilogram. Which of these expressions gives the cost, in pounds, of buying m kilograms of apples?
(a)2.40m
(b)m/2.40
(c)m − 2.40
(d)2.40 + m
11.At a quiz night, each team's result is a win, a draw or a loss, and no team can have more than one of these results. The probability that a team wins is 42% and the probability that a team draws is 18.5%. Work out the probability, as a percentage, that a team does not win and does not draw.
(a)58.0%
(b)60.5%
(c)39.5%
(d)81.5%
12.A space probe is 7.5 × 10⁸ km from Earth. Write this distance as an ordinary number.
(a)600
(b)750,000,000
(c)7,500,000,000
(d)0.000000075
13.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).
14.The ratio of the number of pages Mia has read to the number of pages Leo has read is 7 : 4. Mia has read 84 pages. Work out how many pages they have read altogether.
(a)147
(b)231
(c)48
(d)132
15.Vertex X of a triangle is at (−3, 5). After a translation, the image of X is at (2, −1). Write down the column vector of this translation.
(a) $(- 6 5)$
(b) $(6 5)$
(c) $(6 - 5)$
(d) $(- 6 - 5)$
16.The nth term of a sequence is 2n² + 1. Work out the 4th term of the sequence.
(a)33
(b)65
(c)32
(d)17
17.A river 120 km long is drawn as a line 6 cm long on a map. Work out the scale of the map.
(a)1 : 2 000 000
(b)1 : 200 000
(c)1 : 12 000 000
(d)1 : 20 000
18.A ladder of length 7 m leans against a vertical wall. The foot of the ladder is 3 m from the base of the wall. Work out how high up the wall the ladder reaches. Give your answer correct to 1 decimal place.
(a)4.0 m
(b)6.4 m
(c)6.3 m
(d)10.0 m
19.A geometric sequence has first term 4 and common ratio √2. Work out the sum of the first three terms of the sequence, giving your answer in the form a + b√2.
(a)12 + 4√2
(b)36 + 4√2
(c)4 + 12√2
(d)8 + 4√2
20.A candidate solves the inequality x² > 9 and writes: "x² > 9, so x > 3." Which of these is a correct comment on the candidate's work?
(a)Wrong — the correct solution is −3 < x < 3.
(b)Right, but x = −3 and x = 3 should also work.
(c)Right — square rooting both sides gives x > 3.
(d)Wrong — the correct solution is x < −3 or x > 3.

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.