Sample exam questions - you and your genes - OCR 21st CenturyMaths questions

Maths questions will appear throughout both exams papers (Breadth and Depth), and at both Foundation Tier and Higher Tier.

Don't forget to take a ruler and a calculator into the exams.

Maths questions often start with the command word 'calculate', followed by a blank space for your working. It is important that you show your working - don't just write the answer down. You might earn marks for your working even if you get the answer wrong.

Always include the correct units for your answer, unless they are already given on the answer line. This may earn you an additional mark.

Check carefully to see if the question tells you to round your answer to a particular number of significant figures or decimal places. And don't forget to check your rounding.

If the question does not tell you to round your answer but it has lots of decimal places, you should give your answer to the same number of significant figures as the data in the question. For example, if two significant figures are used in the question, then usually your answer should also be given to two significant figures.

Other command words you might see in maths question include:

• 'predict' (look at some data and suggest an outcome - don't just guess, look at trends in the data and use your scientific knowledge and understanding to make a sensible suggestion)
• 'estimate' (suggest a rough value without doing a calculation - don't just guess, use your scientific knowledge and understanding to make a sensible suggestion)
• 'show' (write down the details, steps or calculations to prove that an answer is correct).

Maths questions might include tables and graphs as well as calculations. When drawing a graph, make sure you:

• put the independent variable (the factor you changed) on the x-axis
• put the dependent variable (the factor you measured) on the y-axis
• construct regular scales for the axes
• label each axis with the quantity and units, eg time (s)
• plot each point accurately
• decide whether the origin (0, 0) should be used as a data point
• draw a straight or curved line of best fit if appropriate

These questions have been written by Bitesize consultants as suggestions to the types of questions that may appear in an exam paper.

Sample question 1 - Foundation

Sample question 2 - Foundation

Sample question 3 - Higher