GCSE Mathematics

ESSENTIAL REVISION
QUESTIONS
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85 Essential Questions at C to D
(1 to 72 are non-calculator)
1T) a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

4t + 7t
4t 7t
6y + 2w 5y
6y 3t
4e2 3e3
m7 m5

g)

y5
y2

h)

6y 4
2y

1S) a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

Grade C
Clip 102

3t + 8t
2t 9t
12y + 3w 5y
4y 2t
3e5 2e7
x4 x3

g)

r7
r3

h)

6r 5
2r 3

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)

11t
28t2
y + 2w
18yt or 18ty
12e5
m2
y3
3y3

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)

11t
18t2
7y + 3w
8yt or 8ty
6e12
x
r4
3r2

2T) a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Expand 5(3y 1)
Expand 3x(2x + 4)
Expand and simplify 2(3x + 5) 3(4x 2)
Expand and simplify 5(2y 3) + 2(y 1)
(2x + 3)(x 4)

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

15y 5
6x2 + 12x
6x + 16
12y 17
2x2 5x 12

2S) a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Expand 3(2y 4)
Expand 5x(3x + 2)
Expand and simplify 5(2x + 1) 2(3x 4)
Expand and simplify 4(3y 2) + 2(3y 2)
(3x 4)(2x 1)

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

6y 12
15x2 + 10x
4x + 13
18y 12
6x2 11x + 4

Page 3

Grade C
Clip 103

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5T) Factorise the following:

a)

2x + 6

b)

2x + 8

c)

2x + 12

d)

3x + 6

e)

x2 + x

f)

2x2 6x

g)

9h2 + 6h

h)

8x2 10x

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)

2(x + 3)
2(x + 4)
2(x + 6)
3(x + 2)
x(x + 1)
2x(x 3)
3h(3h + 2)
2x(4x 5)

2t + 10
3m 12
4y + 8
2x2 + 6
t2 + t
5t2 + 10t
7t2 14t
9h2 30h

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)

2(t + 5)
3(m 4)
4(y + 2)
2(x2 + 3)
t(t + 1)
5t(t + 2)
7t(t 2)
3h(3h 10)

If a piece of wood is measured as 8cm to the

nearest cm, what is the greatest possible
length and the least possible length?

a)

Greatest is 8.5cm
Least is 7.5cm

b)

Greatest is 19.85cm
Least is 19.75cm

a)

Greatest is 5.5cm
Least is 4.5cm

b)

Greatest is 6.75cm
Least is 6.65cm

Grade C
Clip 104

5S) Factorise the following:

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)

6T) a)

b)

If a piece of wood is measured as 19.8cm to the

nearest tenth of a cm, what is the greatest possible
length and the least possible length?

Grade C
Clip 125
6S) a)

b)

Page 5

If a piece of wood is measured as 5cm to the

nearest cm, what is the greatest possible
length and the least possible length?
If a piece of wood is measured as 6.7cm to the
nearest tenth of a cm, what is the greatest possible
length and the least possible length?

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16T) If you share out 240 between Alice and Bill in the
ratio 5 : 3, how much more does Alice get compared
with Bill?

60

16S) If you share out 60 between Alice and Bill in the

ratio 2 : 3, how much does each of them get?

24 for Alice and

36 for Bill

17T) Sara and Fred share tips from their job in the ratio
2 : 5. If Fred receives 35 how much does Sara get?

14

Grade C Clip 94

Grade C Clip 94
17S) Sara and Fred share tips from their job in the ratio
3 : 4. If Sara receives 18 how much does Fred get?

24

18T) Some plant heights are measured as shown in the

table, below.
Height in cm
0 < h w 20
20 < h w 40
40 < h w 60
60 < h w 80

Frequency
4
3
2
1

a) Find an estimate for the mean height of a plant.

b) In which interval does the median height lie?

a) 30
b) 20 < h w 40

18S) Some plant heights are measured as shown in the

table, below.
Height in cm
0 < h w 20
20 < h w 40
40 < h w 60
60 < h w 80

Frequency
1
2
4
3

a) Find an estimate for the mean height of a plant.

b) In which interval does the median height lie?

a) 48
b) 40 < h w 60

Grade C
Clip 133

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19T) a)
b)
c)

Reflect the shaded shape in the y axis and label it T

Rotate T 90 anticlockwise using (0, 0) as the
centre of rotation and label the new shape U
Decribe fully the single transformation that will
move U back on to the shaded shape.

123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012

12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567

c)

Reflection in y = x

Grade D Clips 74, 75, 77

19S) a)
b)
c)

Reflect the shaded shape in the x axis and label it T

Rotate T 90 clockwise using (0, 0) as the
centre of rotation and label the new shape U
Decribe fully the single transformation that will
move U back on to the shaded shape.

12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567
12345678901234567

c)

Page 10

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123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012
123456789012

Reflection in y = x

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25T) Solve the following equations

a) 2x = 7
b) x 8 = 4
c) 2x + 3 = 11
d)
e)
f)
g)

x +5=7
3
2(5x 2) = 26

Grade C
Clip 105

2 x 3 = 1
5
3x + 4 = 5x 3

25S) Solve the following equations

a) 3x = 12
b) x 9 = 3
c) 3x + 2 = 14
d)
e)
f)
g)

x +6=4
3
2(3x + 2) = 46
2 x 6 = 3
5
4x + 3 = 2x 3

26T) Draw a stem and leaf diagram to show the following

information.
The heights of 12 plants in cm are:
3.6, 5.2, 4.1, 3.4, 5.8, 6.2, 4.7, 5.2,
4.7, 6.4, 5.1, 4.9

Grade D Clip 89
26S) Draw a stem and leaf diagram to show the following
information.
The weights of 10 people in kg are:
59, 52, 81, 67, 75, 62, 50, 64, 68, 71

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)

3.5
12
4
6
3
5
3.5

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)

4
12
4
6
7
7.5
3

3
4
5
6

4
1
1
2

6
7 7 9
2 2 8
4

Key 4 | 1 means 4.1

5
6
7
8

0 2 9
2 4 7 8
1 5
1

Key 6 | 2 means 62

27T) For each of the following, state whether it is a length,

area, volume or none of them (a, b, m, q, r, x are lengths)
Ra2b

2ab

mq
r

ab(m + q)

p2 r
q

Rr 3
x

V A L V A A

Grade C Clip 124

27S) For each of the following, state whether it is a length,
area, volume or none of them (a, b, m, q, r, x are lengths)
Rab
Page 14

2ab2

Rr2 + Rrx

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ab(m + q)

Rpqr
2

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r2
Rx

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36T) a)

Complete the table for the equation

y = 2x2 3x
x

14

Grade C
Clip 116

Draw the graph of y = 2x2 3x on the

axes at the bottom of the page
Use your graph to find the value of y
when x = 2.3
Use your graph to find the value of y
when x = 1.5
Use your graph to solve 2x2 3x = 5
Use your graph to solve 2x2 3x = 8

b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

14

c)

3.6

d)

e)
f)

x = 1 and x = 2.5
x = 1.3 and x = 2.9

y
14

13

12

11

10

-2

-1

x
1

-1

-2

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43T) a)

a)

Sketch a scatter diagram with positive

correlation

hair length, hair colour, intelligence,

circumference of wrist, height, ice cream
sales, weight, outside temperature
sale of extra-warm jackets, eye colour
b)

From the list above select two sets of data which

would have
(i) a positive correlation
(ii) no correlation

Grade D Clip 87
43S) a)

b) (i) height and weight

or Ice cream sales and
temp.
(ii) hair length and hair colour
or hair colour and intelligence
etc

Sketch a scatter diagram with negative

correlation

a)

hair length, hair colour, intelligence,

circumference of wrist, height, ice cream
sales, weight, outside temperature
sale of extra-warm jackets, eye colour
b)

From the list above select two sets of data which

would have
(i) a negative correlation
(ii) no correlation

b) (i) temp. and sale of jackets

(ii) eye colour and intelligence
or hair length and weight
etc

44T) a)
b)
c)

What are the first four multiples of 7?

Write down all the factors of 30.
What are the first six prime numbers?

a) 7 14 21 28
b) 1 2 3 5 6 10 15 30
c) 2 3 5 7 11 13

44S) a)
b)
c)

What are the first four multiples of 5?

Write down all the factors of 40.
Which two prime numbers come next, after 13?

a) 5 10 15 20
b) 1 2 4 5 8 10 20 40
c) 17 19

Grade D Clip 44
45T) Solve the inequality

2x + 3 < 11

x<4

45S) Solve the inequality

5x 7 > 43

x > 10

Grade C Clip 109

46T) Evaluate 53
46S) Evaluate 24

Page 24

125

Grade D Clip 45

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Questions 73 to 85 are all calculator questions

73T) Find the length of sides A, B and C giving your answers to
one decimal place.
14cm

12cm

13.9cm

18.2cm

5.6cm

14.4cm

111.9cm

12.7cm

23cm

7cm

Grade C
Clip 118

3.9cm

6.8cm

73S) Find the length of sides A, B and C giving your answers to

one decimal place.
58cm
A

17cm

126cm

9cm

9.5cm
8.5cm
C

74T) The equation x3 + 2x = 20 has a solution between 2 and 3.

Use a trial and improvement method to find this solution.
Give your answer to 1 decimal place and show all workings.

x=2
23 + 2 2 = 12
x=3
33 + 2 3 = 33
x = 2.4 2.43 + 2 2.4 = 18.624
x = 2.5 2.53 + 2 2.5 = 20.625
x = 2.45 2.453 + 2 2.45 = 19.60612
x = 2.5 to 1 decimal place.

Too low
Too big
Too low
Too big
Too low

74S) The equation x3 4x = 88 has a solution between 4 and 5.

Use a trial and improvement method to find this solution.
Give your answer to 1 decimal place and show all workings.

x=4
43 4 4 = 48
x=5
53 4 5 = 105
x = 4.7 4.73 4 4.7 = 85.023
x = 4.8 4.83 4 4.8 = 91.392
x = 4.75 4.753 4 4.75 = 88.17187
x = 4.7 to 1 decimal place.

Too low
Too big
Too low
Too big
Too big

Grade D Clip 110

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22 Essential Questions at grade B

(A calculator can be used on all questions apart from qu. 13)
1T) Solve these two simultaneous equations
2r + 3s = 6
3r 2s = 22

Grade B Clip 142

1S) Solve these two simultaneous equations

h + 3t = 10
2h t = 8

h = 2 and t = 4

2T) Mary recorded the heights, in centimetres, of the girls in

her class.
She put the heights in order.

r = 6 and s = 2

Grade B
Clip 152

a)
b)

LQ = 152
UQ = 177

a)
b)

LQ = 154
UQ = 181

132 144 150 152 160 162 162 167

167 170 172 177 181 182 182
a) Find the lower quartile
b) Find the upper quartile
c) On the grid, draw a boxplot for this data.

2S) Mary recorded the heights, in centimetres, of the girls in

her class.
She put the heights in order.
131 142 142 150 158 161 165 169
169 169 173 179 183 185 186 188
a) Find the lower quartile
b) Find the upper quartile
c) On the grid, draw a boxplot for this data.

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8T) The heights of 64 plants were measured and can be

seen in this table.
Height (cm)
Frequency

Grade B
Clip 151
a)

b)
c)

0 < h < 10

10 < h < 20

20 < h < 30

23

30 < h < 40

24

40 < h < 50

50 < h < 60

Complete this cumulative frequency table.

a)

Height (cm)

Cumulative Frequency

Height (cm)

Cumulative Frequency

0 < h < 10
0 < h < 20

0 < h < 10
0 < h < 20

10

0 < h < 30

0 < h < 30

33

0 < h < 40

0 < h < 40

57

0 < h < 50

0 < h < 50

62

0 < h < 60

0 < h < 60

64

Draw a cumulative frequency curve for your table.

b)
Use your graph to find an estimate for the
80
interquartile range of the heights of the plants.
CF

80

70

CF

60

70

UQ

50

60

40

median

30

50
20

40

LQ
x

10

x
0
0

10

20

30

30

40

50

Height (cm)
c)

20

IR = UQ LQ
= 34.5 23.5
= 11cm

10

0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Height (cm)
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60

21T) a)

b)

A straight line is parallel to y = 3x 1 and goes

through (1, 7).
What is its equation?
A straight line goes through points (1, 5) and (3, 13).
What is its equation?

a) y = 3x + 4

b) y = 4x + 1

Grade B Clip 143

21S) a)

b)

A straight line is parallel to y = 5x 3 and goes

through (3, 17).
What is its equation?
A straight line goes through points (1, 5) and (3, 3).
What is its equation?

22T) Sketch the graphs of

a) y = x2
c) y = 2x + 4

b)
d)

a) y = 5x + 2

b) y = 6 x

y = x3
y = -x3

Grade B Clip 146

22S) Sketch the graphs of
a) y = -x2
c) y = 3x 6
y = x2

a)

b)
d)
b)

y = x1
y = x2 4
y = x3

y = 2x + 4

c)

y = -x2

a)

d)

b)

y = -x3

1
y= x

y = 3x 6

d)

c)

y = x2 4

-6
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26 Essential Questions at grade A/A*

(A calculator can be used on all questions unless told otherwise)
y

1T)

Grade A/A*
Clip 167
(2, 1)

y = f(x)
x

The diagram shows part of the curve with equation y = f(x).

The coordinates of the maximum point of this curve are (2, 1).
Write down the coordinates of the maximum point of the curve
with equation
a)
y = f(x) + 3
b) y = f(x) 1
c) y = f(x 3)
d) y = 2f(x)
e) y = f(x)

1S)

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

(2, 4)
(2, 0)
(5, 1)
(2, 2)
(4, 1)

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

(1, -2)
(0.5, -4)
(-4, -4)
(1, 0)
(1, -12)

y = f(x)

0
(1, -4)

The diagram shows part of the curve with equation y = f(x).

The coordinates of the minimum point of this curve are (1, -4).
Write down the coordinates of the minimum point of the curve
with equation
a)
y = f(x)
b) y = f(2x)
c) y = f(x + 5)
d) y = f(x) + 4
e) y = 3f(x)

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2T) For each triangle find the side or angle marked with
the letter x.
Give your answer correct to 1 decimal place.

Grade A/A*
Clip 173

a)
x

8 cm

56

b)

66 cm

94 cm

a) 6.3 cm

68

b) 40.6

x
41

c) 11.7 cm
d) 57.1

c)

d)

5 cm

6 cm
7 cm

9 cm

110

5 cm

x
2S) For each triangle find the side or angle marked with
the letter x.
Give your answer correct to 1 decimal place.
a)

10 m

12 m

62

b)

67

a) 78.5
x

5 cm

b) 5.2 cm
c) 10.0 cm

14m

d) 49.5
c)

d)*
7 cm

8 cm

98

95

5 cm

12 cm

*A tricky sine rule question.

3T) Solve 3x2 + 7x 12 = 0

Give your solutions correct to 2 decimal places.

x = 1.15 or x = -3.48

3S) Solve 2x2 5x + 1 = 0

Give your solutions correct to 2 decimal places.

x = 2.28 or x = 0.22

Grade A/A* Clip 161

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15S) This histogram gives information about the paintings

sold in a shop one Saturday.
Frequency 20
density

16
12
8
4
0
0

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Price (P) in pounds ()

a)

Use the histogram to complete the table.

Price (p) in pounds ()

Frequency

0<p<5

0<p<5

40

5 < p < 10

5 < p < 10

80

10 < p < 20

10 < p < 20

56

20 < p < 40

20 < p < 40

32

This table gives information about the paintings

sold in another shop on the same Saturday.

b)
Frequency
density

Price (p) in pounds ()

Frequency

0<p<5

100

5 < p < 10

40

10 < p < 20

24

20 < p < 40

96

Draw a histogram to represent this information.

20
16
12
8
4

10

15

20

25

30

35

0
0
Page 64

10 15 20 25 30
Price (p) in pounds ()

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40

24T)

E
16 cm
D

C
8 cm

9 cm

This is a cuboid, ABCDEFGH

AB = 9 cm,

BC = 8 cm,

AG = 16 cm

a)

Calculate the length AE.

Give your answer to 3 significant figures.

a) 10.5 cm

b)

Work out the angle between CE and the horizontal

plane ABCD.
Give your answer to 2 significant figures.

b) 41

Grade A/A* Clips 174 and 175

24S)

12 cm
C

9 cm

M
A

9 cm

The diagram shows a square-based pyramid ABCDX.

AB = BC = 9 cm.
The point M is the centre of the square base.
XM = 12 cm.

Page 70

a)

Calculate the length of AC.

Give your answer to 3 significant figures.

a) 12.7 cm

b)

Work out the angle between the edge AX and the

horizontal plane ABCD.
Give your answer to 1 decimal place.

b) 62.1

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