GCSE
MATHEMATICS
43602F
Unit 2: Number and Algebra (Foundation)
Report on the Examination
Specification 4360
June 2013
Version: 1.0
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REPORT ON THE EXAMINATION – GCSE Mathematics – 43602F – June 2013
General
Students found the paper accessible and the majority attempted all questions in the allotted time.
It was clear that students were better prepared for this paper, even on the more challenging
questions. Work was generally well presented and working was clearly shown in most cases.
Questions on algebra were not well answered and students often showed little knowledge of how
to set up a linear equation or solve inequalities. The standard of basic arithmetic was often poor,
particularly in questions involving fractions, decimals and percentages. In some of the more
complex questions, students were often able to apply correct methods, but gave incorrect
answers because they did not carry out the basic four rules of number accurately. Again,
questions that involved functional elements of mathematics were usually better answered.
Topics that were well done included:
 multiples and factors of numbers
 squaring numbers
 problems involving money
 sequences
 coordinates.
Topics which students found difficult included:
 multiplying negative numbers
 comparing fractions, decimals and percentages
 solving problems involving ratios
 setting up a linear equation
 solving linear inequalities.
Question 1
This question was well answered by nearly all students. In part (b), the most common incorrect
answer was 62.
Question 2
The vast majority of students usually gave the correct answer. Common incorrect answers were
29 and 36 or 30 and 36.
Question 3
Parts (a) and (b) were well answered by most students. Part (c) was not as well answered. In all
three parts the most common error was to reverse the coordinates.
Question 4
In part (a), the majority of students gave the correct answer. Part (b) was well answered with a few
common incorrect answers of 5p (from 25p – 20p) or £2.50 (from 25p × 10). Some students did not
use the correct money notation in their final answer as 0.20 was frequently seen in part (a) and
0.50 in part (b).
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REPORT ON THE EXAMINATION – GCSE Mathematics – 43602F – June 2013
Question 5
Most students realised that they needed to work out 10 × 40 or 10 × 41. A few students worked
out 9.9 × 41 to give 405.9 and then approximated this to 400. A fairly common misconception was
to refine their answer, e.g. 10 × 40 = 400, 400 + 1 = 401 or 10 × 41 = 410, 410 – 0.1 = 409.9.
Question 6
This question was well answered by the majority of students. In part (a), some misread the
question and worked out a different combination of drinks. In part (b), a few students made errors
in the subtraction from £10, e.g. £10 – £5.25 = £5.25.
Question 7
This question proved to be a good discriminator between the more and the less able students. The
most common correct reasons seen were: for 23, it is odd or prime, for 36, it is a square number or
a multiple of 6, for 40, it is a multiple of 10 or it has 8 as a factor. Students often mixed up factors
and multiples. Quite a few students did not understand the idea of ‘odd one out’ and wrote down a
reason why each separate number was odd e.g. 23 ends in a 3 which is odd or 36 starts with a 3
which is odd.
Question 8
In part (a), the majority of students gave the correct answer. A common error was £5 × 8 = £45.
There were occasional slips when students wrote down their 8 times table first. In part (b), most
students realised they had to work out 96 ÷ 8 and there were many correct answers. Students
often built up the multiples of 8 from 40 or 80 which sometimes led to errors.
Question 9
A good proportion of students gave a fully correct solution. One common error was to simply give
the totals for the three colours, i.e. 27, 41 and 32. Another error was to make the three colours
add up to numbers such as 50 or 100. Some students seemed uncomfortable with blue being 0
and gave answers of one more than the correct answer for each colour. A few students worked out
100 – 68 to be 42.
Question 10
This question was a good discriminator. In part (a), 3.5 or 3.60 or 3.600 were the most common
incorrect answers. In part (b), the most common incorrect answer gave the order of numbers as
0.5, 0.62 and 0.325. Those students who wrote the decimals as 0.500, 0.620 and 0.325 usually
gave the correct answer. There were fewer correct answers in part (c). The most common
incorrect answer was to circle 8% and 1/8. 4/5 was rarely circled.
Question 11
This question proved to be challenging for many students. A significant number of students
seemed unsure about multiplying a number by zero as a common incorrect answer was 0, 0 and –
12. It was clear from the students’ working that they were finding three numbers that sum to –12,
e.g. 3, –3 and –12.
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REPORT ON THE EXAMINATION – GCSE Mathematics – 43602F – June 2013
Question 12
Most students made a very good attempt at this question and were able to gain credit. Working
was usually clearly shown. The most common approach was to work out ¼ of 600, 40% of 600
and then subtract the sum of these two from 600. A quite common error was to work out ¼ of 600
correctly, work out 600 – 150 and then work out 40% of 450 which led to an incorrect answer of
270. Some Students were unable to work out ¼ of 600 or 40% of 600. Many students used a
‘build up’ method to work out 40% but often made arithmetical errors. A few students changed ¼
to 25% but were then unable to work out 35% of 600.
Question 13
Part (a) proved to be a good discriminator. A few students worked out 4/12 × 3/12 and obtained the
correct answer. The most common incorrect answers were 2/12 or 1/7 or 2/7. There were very few
correct answers in part (b). The few students who converted the fractions to 2/8 and 4/8 usually
obtained the correct answer. The most common incorrect answer was ⅓. A correct conversion to
25% and 75% was often seen but only a few students could work out the half way percentage
between them. Those who attempted to add the fractions first usually obtained 2/6.
Question 14
Part (a) proved to be a good discriminator. Most students knew that they had to work out 3 × 5
and 4 × 1/2, but some proceeded to work out 15 + 2. A common mistake was to write 4 × 1/2 = 8.
Quite a few students gave an incorrect answer of 15c – 2d. Another common incorrect answer
was 30½ (from 35 – 41/2). In part (b), a good number of students expanded at least one of the
brackets correctly. Common incorrect expansions were 5x + 12 or 2x + 1.
Question 15
Part (a) proved to be a good discriminator. The most common incorrect answers were 5x or x5.
Many students did not attempt part (b). Very few students produced a correct algebraic solution
although some succeeded with a trial and improvement method. The most common incorrect
answers were 34 (from 54 – 4 × 5) and 13.5 (from 54 ÷ 4).
Question 16
The range of responses showed varied levels of understanding of indices. 17 (from 3 × 3 + 4 × 2)
and 75 were common incorrect answers in part (a). Similar misconceptions appeared in part (b)
where common incorrect answers were –51 (from 5 × 3 – 10 × 2) and –55.
Question 17
The majority of students used a trial and improvement method in this question with some degree of
success. It was rare to see the ratio 1 : 2 : 6 or 180 ÷ 9. Occasionally students did not state a
conclusion. The most common incorrect answer was to state that Chloe’s share was £90, so ‘no’
(from £180 ÷ 6 × 3).
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REPORT ON THE EXAMINATION – GCSE Mathematics – 43602F – June 2013
Question 18
Part (a) had a substantial proportion of non-attempts. Students seemed unable to deal with the
inequality sign and replaced it with an equal sign. Many students who used this method did not
revert to ≤ for their answer. Embedded answers were also common, e.g. 4 × 5 – 7 ≤ 13. There
were few fully correct responses for part (b). Most students did not know how to show the
inequality on the number line and marked it with crosses at 3 and 5.
Mark Ranges and Award of Grades
Grade boundaries and cumulative percentage grades are available on the Results Statistics
page of the AQA Website.
Converting Marks into UMS marks
Convert raw marks into Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) marks by using the link below.
UMS conversion calculator www.aqa.org.uk/umsconversion
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