GCSE Past Examination Questions Volume
GCSE Past Examination Questions Volume
GCSE Past Examination Questions Volume
Fractions
1.
1
2
1
3
5
6 marks (2011 J/NC)
2.
Mr Mason asks 240 Year 11 students what they want to do next year.
3
of the students want to stay at school.
4
1 2
7 3
3.
4.
3 1
5 3
(3 marks, 2014 J/NC)
Work out the total cost of the tickets when Mr Brown uses his Family Railcard.
(4 Marks, 2014 J/NC)
5.
Show that 4 5 8
9 6 15
(2 marks, IGCSE 3H/Cal 2014 May)
1
2
6. Work out 3 4
3
5
Give your answer as a mixed number in its simplest form.
(3 marks, Maths B 2014Nov/NC)
2
7. Toms take home pay is $ 205 per week. He gives of this to his mother. He saves 15 % of the remainder. How
5
much of his pay does he have left to spend?
8.
3
inches.
4
2
The other part has a length of 2 inches.
3
One part has a length of 1
11. A school has 900 pupils. 460 of these pupils are girls.
2 of the boys like drama. 3 of the girls like drama. Work out the total number of pupils in the school who like drama.
5
5
Indices
Law of Indices
m n
a a a
am
a m a n a mn
n
a
n
a
a
b
m n
mn
(a ) a
1
an
1
n
a n a
a 1
bn
an
am an m n
an
a
n
b
b
m
n
1n
a
2
3
3. (a) Simplify a a
4
(b) Simplify
45e 6 f 8
5ef 2
1
2
4. Write these numbers in order of size. Start with the smallest number.
51
0.5
50
2 mark (2013 June/NC)
5.
(b) Evaluate 3
23 2 n 29
(b) Work out the value of x .
2 x 3 128
(2marks, 2014 J/Cal)
(2015 June/NC)
9.
a6
Simplify
2
3
2 3
(3 marks, 2012 Mar U2/NC)
2
3
12. Simplify (9 w y )
1
2
(2 marks)
13. Solve
3x 10 4
1
3
2
1
x
(81) 3
1
25 x
5
80
ii)
64 2
iii)
27 3
8
(4 marks)
Algebraic Expressions
2
5 4
1. Simplify (c k )
2. Simplify (9 x y ) 2
2 mark (2012 June/C)
2 5
3. (a) Simplify (m )
4. Simplify
(a) m m
5
(b) 5 x y x y
4
(2012 Nov/NC)
5. (a) Simplify a 4 a 5
(b) Simplify
45e 6 f 8
5ef 2
1
2
6. (a) Simplify x x
7
4 3
(b) Simplify (m )
(c) Simplify
36af 8
12a 5 f 2
(4 marks, 2013 N/C)
7. Simplify 4 y 2 x 3 3x 8
(2 marks, 2013 N/NC)
2
4 3
8. Simplify (3 x y )
9. (a) Simplify ( p )
(b) Simplify
t8
t3
(2 marks, 2014 J/C)
10. x = 3
Work out the value of 4x
(1 mark, 2015J/NC)
p3 p4
p2
(b) Simplify
h7
h2
2 3
(c) Simplify (x )
13. Simplify
a6
8
2
3
5x 5 y 6
14. (a) Simplify
x2 y4
(b) Simplify (2n 4 ) 3
15. Simplify 5 x 4 y x 7 y
16. Simplify each of the following
(a)
(ab) 3 b 2
(b)
(2 x) 3 (3x) 3
(c)
4 x 7 3x 4 4 x 3
Expanding Brackets
1. Expand and simplify 3(2 x 5) 4( x 3)
2. Expand and simplify 3(4 y 5) 5(2 y 3)
3. (a) Expand x( x 2)
(b) Expand and simplify ( x 3)( x 4)
4.
5. Expand 3( 2 y 5)
6. Expand and simplify ( p 9)( p 4)
7. (a) Expand
4(3x 5)
8. (a) Expand 3( 2 t )
(b) Expand 3x( 2 x 5)
(c) Expand and simplify ( m 3)(m 10)
9. Expand 2m( m 5)
10. (a) Expand 4( x 2)
(b) Expand 3 y (4 y 3)
(c) Expand and simplify (t 2)(t 4)
(2015 June/C)
15. Expand
(5 x 3)(3x 5)
Factorising
1. Factorise 3e 2 5e
2. Factorise completely (c d ) d
2
3. Factorise 2w 2 w 3
4. Factorise completely 8 x 4 xy
2
5. Factorise x 3x 10
2
x 2 49
Factorise
7.
(a)
(i) Factorise x 12 x 27
(ii) Solve the equation x 2 12x 27 0
(b)
Factorise y 100
8. (a) Factorise 6 9x
(b) Factorise y 16
2
(c) Factorise 2 p 2 p 10
(4 marks, 2013 J/CAL)
9. Factorise 4 x 9
2
13. Factorise y 2 y
2
15. Factorise:
(a) x 4 x 32
(d) 2 x 13 15
(g) 3n 5n 2
(b) x 13x 42
(e) 6 x 2 14x 12
(h) 11 p 52 p 32
(c) 4 x 16 y
(f)
2 x 2 14x 16
Linear Equations
1.
5w 8
4w 2
3
Solve
2x
3 x 15
2x
2 x 24
Work out the value of x .
(3 marks, 2012 J/NC)
A.
4 marks (2012 Nov NC)
2 y
4. Solve
1
5
5. Solve
3( x 2) x 7
(3 marks, 2013 J/CAL)
ABC is a triangle.
Angle ABC = angle BCA.
The length of side AB is
(3x 5)cm
(19 x)cm
2 x cm .
Work out the perimeter of the triangle. Give your answer as a number of centimetres.
8. Solve 5( f 3) f 10
9.
10. Solve
73f
2
4
3 marks (EdExcel 2014 Nov/NC)
12. Solve 5x 4 14 x
14. Solve 3x 16 1 2x
Show clear algebraic working.
15. Solve 7( x 2) 7
2
3
18. Solve
5x 2 6 x 1
(4 marks, IG MA4H 2013 Jan/ Cal)
2x
19. Solve
1
x3
(2 marks, IGMB/P1, 2014 May/Cal)
20. Sarah drives her car from her home to the railway station, a distance of x kilometres.
She then gets the train and travels to London, 8 times the distance she travelled in her car.
If her total journey is 36 kilometres, calculate the length of the car journey.
9.
11. Sally is going to buy some packs of blue paint and some packs of white paint.
Blue paint is sold in packs of 12 tubes.
White paint is sold in packs of 15 tubes.
Sally is going to put all the tubes of paint she buys into boxes.
She is going to put 1 tube of blue paint and 1 tube of white paint in each box.
Sally wants to buy the smallest number of packs of blue paint and the smallest number of packs of white
paint.
Work out the number of packs of blue paint and the number of packs of white paint she will buy.
(4 Marks, 2014 J U2/NC)
Surds
Rules of Surds
12
3
2.
3. Write
15
5
6. (a) ( a ) 7 k a , where k a
(b) Express
as a power of 2.
2 2
(4 marks, IG3H 2009 Nov)
12
(4 marks, 2015 J U2/NC)
8.
14
7
(6 5 )(6 5 )
31
k is a positive integer.
Find the value of
k.
(a)
1 2
2
(b) 2 2 1
2 3
(c)
6 3
13. Simplify
(a) (2 5 3 )(3 3 5 )
(b) 2 2
(c)
(d)
2 1
4 3
2 3
2
2 1
4
5
(e)
14. Solve
1
2 3
3
2 1
3x 10 4
9
48
(b)
52 3
5 3
Algebraic Fraction
x 3x 4
2 x 2 5x 3
2
(b) Write
4
3
as a single fraction in its simplest form.
x2 x2
(6 marks, 12June/NC)
2. Simplify 4( x 5)
x 2 2 x 15
Solve
h 7 2h 1 5
3
2
6
(4 marks, 2013 N/CAL)
x 9
2 x 2 5x 3
2
4.
Simplify
2 x 5x 3
x 2 5x 6
2
5. Simplify fully
6. Simplify
4 x 12
x 2 3x
(2 marks, IGMB/P1, 2014 May/Cal)
3
2
7. Write
as a single fraction in its simplest form.
b ab
(3 marks, 2012 Mar U2/NC)
8. (a) Simplify
x2
x 2 2x
(b) Simplify
2
1
2x 1 x 1
(6 marks, IG3H 2009 Nov)
9.
Simplify fully
9x 2 1
3x 1
2
3x 2 x 1 x 2
(5 marks, AQA 2013 Jan/NC)
3x 2 6 x
x 2 2x 8
(3 marks, 2014 J U2/NC)
4
3
11. Simplify fully
2 x x
(3 marks, Maths B 2014Nov/NC)
5 x 14 x 3
50 x 2 2
2
x 2 4 x 12
x6
2
2
x 25
x 5x
(c)
5
2
3x 2 4 x 1
(b)
2 1
x y
(d)
6
2
3x 1 x 2
Decimals
12. Express the recurring decimal 0.2 81 as a fraction in its simplest form.
(3 marks, 2012 J/ NC)
1.793 185
(b)
331705 1.85
(2 marks, 2013 J/ NC)
6.7 520
(b)
67 0.52
(c)
3484 5.2
(3 marks, EdExcel 2014 Nov NC)
16. Steve wants to put a hedge along one side of his garden.
He needs to buy 27 plants for the hedge.
Each plant costs 5.54
Steve has 150 to spend on plants for the hedge.
Does Steve have enough money to buy all the plants he needs?
(4 marks, EdExcel 2014 Nov NC)
17. x 0.0 4 5
Prove algebraically that x can be written as
1
22
(2015 J/NC)
x.
x.
3. Solve x 2 2 x 2 1
(2 marks, 2013 J/CAL)
5. Solve x 2 x 1 x 3
2
6. Solve 3x 5 x 1 0
Give your solutions correct to 3 significant figures.
2
7. ABCD is a rectangle.
AB = 10 cm
BC = 8 cm.
9. Solve x 2 2 x 15 0
(3 marks, 2015 J U3/C)
11. Solve 5x 2 2 x 4 0
Give your solutions correct to 3 significant figures. Show your working clearly.
(3 marks, IG4H 2013 Jan/ Cal)
12. The expression x 8 x 6 can be written in the form ( x p ) q for all values of x .
(a) Find the value of p and the value of q .
2
of x .
(b) If the perimeter is 36cm, what is the value of
x?
x 2 5x 8 0
1
x 5 for values of x from 2 to 4.
2
(3 marks, 2013J/NC)