Test your skills with these five 'tough' GCSE maths questions
For some people, maths might have changed quite a bit since they were last in a classroom
Maths is a subject that people either love and understand or dislike and avoid with a passion. But, for Year 11 students across the UK, they have no choice but to learn about fractions, algebra, geometry and more for their GCSE exams.
Exam season is well underway, with many students having already taken the all-important tests and mock exams in English, Science, and other subjects. However, depending on the different exam boards used by schools, some will still have end-of-year exams to complete.
Below is our own test for readers with five maths questions based on one of the AQA exam papers from 2024 that allowed a calculator. We've made the questions multiple choice - something the pupils taking the test didn't have the luxury of and included how many marks these actual questions would have been worth to students.
These questions come from the foundation tier paper, meaning they're not as challenging as the higher set. Pupils taking this version of the maths exam can earn a maximum grade of 5 (the equivalent of a high C or low B grade in the traditional letter grades that are no longer used in England and Scotland).
We've included the answers at the end so you can mark your own work. You can share your result in the comments.
1. Which of the two shapes above fits together to form a rectangle? This question was worth 1 mark.
A & F
B & D
C & E
2. There are 1020 books in a box. Two-fifths (2/5) of the books are blue. How many books in total are blue? This question was worth 2 marks.
408
596
390
3. Complete the sequence below using two different even numbers and two different odd numbers. This question was also worth 2 marks.
4. A TV series has ten episodes. Nine episodes are each 50 minutes long and one episode is 1 hour 42 minutes long. Work out the total length of the series and give your answer in hours and minutes. This was worth 3 marks.
8hrs 55mins
9hrs 20mins
10hrs 32min
5. Two shops sell bottles of apple juice. At Shop X, a pack of 4 bottles was £2.50 but is now 10% off, whilst Shop Z sells a pack of 12 bottles for £7. At which shop is it cheaper to buy 24 bottles? This question was worth 4 marks, and students had to show their working out.
Shop X
Shop Z
Correct answers:
C & E
408
11 + 8 + 6 + 21 (the answer provided by the marking guide)
B = 9 hours and 20 minutes
Shop X is cheaper by £1. Shop Z would charge £14 and Shop X charges £15 but with the 10% discount applied this knocks the overall cost down by £1.50 to £13.50 overall.
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