Edexcel IGCSE 4MA1/1HR, Thursday 16 May 2024: Worked Solutions and Mark Schemes
Sir Faraz Hassan
10 Aug 2026
Table of Contents▾
Try each question yourself first, then open the worked solution to check your method and see exactly where each method mark (M1) and accuracy mark (A1) is earned. The questions follow the same order as the original paper and carry the same marks.
Every question with a full worked solution and mark scheme - free PDF
Worked solutions, questions 1 to 13 of 23
Question 1, Calculator allowed
Here are six number tiles from a puzzle set.
Five of the tiles already have a number painted on them. The sixth tile is still blank.
Work out the number that must be painted on the blank tile so that the six numbers have a mean of [3 marks]
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Question 1 - Exam Solution
- A mean is a total shared out equally, so work backwards: the mean tells you what the total has to be.
- Multiply the mean by to get the total the six numbers must have.
- Add the five painted numbers, then take that sum away from the total. What is left is the missing number.
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| The total six numbers need for a mean of | M1 | A correct calculation for the total, , or a correct equation for the last tile using . | ✓ |
| The five painted numbers totalled, then subtracted | M1 | A correct equation for with no fraction in it, or a correct calculation for the number on the last tile, , where . | ✓ |
| The number on the last tile | A1 | cao . A correct answer scores full marks unless it clearly comes from incorrect working, and if the answer line is left blank, check the tile itself. | ✓ |
Full marks: 3/3
Question 2, Calculator allowed
The five-sided spinner shown below is biased.
The table gives the probability that the spinner lands on each number when it is spun once.
Bethany is going to spin the spinner times.
Work out an estimate for the number of times the spinner will land on an odd number. [4 marks]
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Question 2 - Exam Solution
- The spinner must land on something, so the five probabilities total . That one equation is enough to find .
- Watch the two rows that hold the unknown: carries and carries , so there are three lots of altogether, not two.
- Add the probabilities of the three odd numbers, then multiply by to turn that probability into an expected number of spins.
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uses the fact that the probabilities total : or | M1 | For a clear understanding that the total of the probabilities is . Also earned by finding estimates for the other three numbers: , and | ✓ |
| or | M1 | For a method to find the value of or of . By the frequency route, for or | ✓ |
| or | M1 | For a complete method: the three odd probabilities added and then scaled to the number of spins, or the three odd estimates added directly | ✓ |
| The estimate: | A1 | For an answer of | ✓ |
| Guidance on this question | Note | A correct answer scores full marks unless it comes from obviously incorrect working. An answer left as or equivalent is a probability rather than a number of spins and scores M3A0 | ✓ |
Full marks: 4/4
Question 3, Calculator allowed
Matteo sells plain plant pots and painted plant pots on his market stall.
He sells a total of pots such that
Matteo sells the plain pots for each.
He sells the painted pots for each.
of the price of a plain pot is profit.
of the price of a painted pot is profit.
Work out the total profit Matteo makes when he sells all pots. [5 marks]
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Question 3 - Exam Solution
- Share the pots in the ratio to find how many of each kind are sold.
- Turn each number of pots into the money taken for that kind, by multiplying by the price of one pot.
- The two profit rates are different, so they can never be combined into a single percentage of the total takings. Apply each rate to the money taken for its own kind of pot.
- Add the two profits together.
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Divides by the total number of shares: which gives | M1 | For a method to find one share of the ratio, | ✓ |
| and | M1 | For a method to find the number of plain pots and the number of painted pots. Both are needed: and | ✓ |
| and | M1 | For a method to find the money taken from the plain pots and the money taken from the painted pots, or the number of pots that are entirely profit, or the profit on a single pot of either kind. Examples of the last two routes: and ; and . The printed scheme disagrees with itself on that last route - its condition allows the profit on a single pot of one kind or the other, while its worked example shows both - and it is the condition that carries the mark, so one is enough | ✓ |
| and | M1 | For a complete method to find the total profit on the plain pots and the total profit on the painted pots: and . By the other two routes, and , or and | ✓ |
| The total profit: | A1 | cao. For an answer of . A correct answer scores full marks unless it comes from obviously incorrect working | ✓ |
| An answer of or | SC | Award SCB4 for either. is the two profit rates swapped, - which is why it is not a near miss but the total cost of the pots instead of the profit. is the ratio taken the other way round, giving plain and painted, so | ✓ |
Full marks: 5/5
Question 4, Calculator allowed
Show that
You must show every stage of your working. [3 marks]
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Question 4 - Exam Solution
- Turn each mixed number into a top-heavy (improper) fraction. The division rule only works on those, so and cannot be used as they stand.
- Turn the dividing fraction upside down and multiply by it instead.
- Multiply the numerators together and the denominators together.
- Cancel the result down to its lowest terms, and check that what is left is .
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Both mixed numbers written as improper fractions | M1 | For and . A candidate who has already inverted the second fraction and written rather than still earns this mark. | ✓ |
| The division turned into a multiplication, or both fractions put over one denominator | M1 | For the intention to multiply the correct improper fraction by the inverted fraction, or equivalent, for example . Also earned for writing the two fractions over the same common denominator, and . | ✓ |
| The working completed to the printed fraction | A1 | For correctly completing to reach the required answer, for example , or , or the common-denominator route finishing at . Cancelling the sevens inside the multiplication before multiplying is equally acceptable. | ✓ |
| Guidance carried on the mark scheme | Note | Working is required. The mark scheme header names question 4 as one of the questions where a correct answer is not taken to imply a correct method, so the printed fraction copied out on its own scores nothing. Decimals written only as a check are ignored, neither credited nor penalised, provided the fraction working is there. | ✓ |
Full marks: 3/3
Question 5, Calculator allowed
Radomir pays euros into a savings bond.
The bond pays per year compound interest.
Radomir leaves his money in the bond for years.
Work out how much money Radomir will have in the savings bond at the end of the years.
Give your answer correct to the nearest euro. [3 marks]
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Question 5 - Exam Solution
- Turn the rate into a multiplier for one year: , which is .
- Compound interest means each year's interest is worked out on the new balance, so that same multiplier is used once for every year.
- Four years is therefore four multiplications by , which is the same as multiplying by .
- Keep the full decimal all the way through and round only at the very end, or the rounding error grows with every year.
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| or | M1 | For a method to find of , or of . Any equivalent working earns this. | ✓ |
| and and | M1 | For a complete method: the multiplier used once for each of the years. The mark scheme quotes the candidate's own values, so this follows through from a wrong balance in an earlier year. | ✓ |
| M2 | The power method written in one line earns both method marks at once. The mark scheme also allows M2 for , which is a complete method spoiled only by using years instead of . | ✓ | |
| The value written on the answer line | A1 | Accept anything from to , which covers a candidate who truncated rather than rounded. A correct answer scores full marks unless it comes from obviously incorrect working. | ✓ |
| If no other mark has been earned | SC B1 | For any one of oe (reading the rate as ), oe (one year at ), oe (a decrease), oe (one year of decrease instead of increase) or oe (four years of decrease). Accept (1 + 0.025) as equivalent to 1.025 throughout, but not (1 + 2.5%). | ✓ |
| Equivalent forms of the multiplier | Note | Accept as equivalent to throughout, but do not accept . | ✓ |
Full marks: 3/3
Question 6, Calculator allowed
The diagram shows a solid cylinder cut from a length of hardwood.
The cylinder has radius cm and height cm.
The volume of the cylinder is cm³
(a) Work out the value of .
Give your answer correct to the nearest whole number. [2 marks]
The density of the hardwood is g/cm³
(b) Work out the mass of the cylinder.
Give your answer in kilograms. [2 marks]
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Question 6 - Exam Solution
- A cylinder is a circular face swept through its height, so . Putting the radius and the volume in leaves as the only unknown.
- Work out the area of the circular face first, then divide the volume by it. Keep the calculator's own all the way through and round once, at the very end of part (a).
- Density is the mass of one cm³, so gives the mass in grams. The question wants kilograms, and g make kg.
- Part (b) does not need the answer to part (a). The volume is already given as cm³, so use that rather than one rebuilt from a rounded height.
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) An equation in built from the volume of the cylinder, , or a correct calculation for , | M1 | The method may be seen in stages: followed by a division by that figure earns the mark exactly as the single line does. Squaring the diameter, , in place of the radius does not. | ✓ |
| A1 | Accept anything from to . The band is stated with no reason on the paper, and this is the reason: a candidate who types a rounded lands a little high, at , and the band is exactly wide enough for that and no wider. A correct answer scores both marks unless it comes from obviously incorrect working. | ✓ | |
| (b) An equation built from density as mass per unit volume, , or a calculation for the mass, | M1 | Any correct method for the mass earns this, including changing the density to kg/cm³ first and multiplying by , which reaches kilograms in a single line. | ✓ |
| A1 | The answer must be in kilograms. left in grams shows the method but not the change of unit, so it scores the method mark alone. A correct answer scores both marks unless it comes from obviously incorrect working. | ✓ | |
| Part (b) is marked from the volume the question states, cm³, not from a volume rebuilt out of the rounded height. | Note | Rebuilding it from gives cm³ and a mass of g. That still rounds to kg, so it is not penalised here, but the given volume is the one the mark scheme's own calculation uses. | ✓ |
Full marks: 4/4
Question 7, Calculator allowed
(a) Simplify [1 mark]
(b) Expand [2 marks]
(c) (i) Factorise
[2 marks]
(ii) Hence, solve [1 mark]
(d) Solve the inequality [3 marks]
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Question 7 - Exam Solution
- (a) Dividing powers of the same base subtracts the indices, so this is .
- (b) Multiply each of the two terms inside the bracket by , adding indices as you go.
- (c)(i) Look for two integers whose product is and whose sum is .
- (c)(ii) A product is zero only when one of its factors is zero, so read one solution off each bracket. This is why the question says "Hence" - the factors are already done.
- (d) Rearrange it exactly as you would an equation, but reverse the inequality sign if you divide by a negative number.
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) | B1 | For . | ✓ |
| (b) | B2 | For . Award mark only, B1, for either or alone. | ✓ |
| (c)(i) | M1 | For , or for where or , with and integers. | ✓ |
| (c)(i) | A1 | For the correct factors. A correct answer scores full marks unless it comes from obviously incorrect working. | ✓ |
| (c)(ii) | B1 | Must follow through from part (c)(i), and is dependent on factorising in the form where and are integers. | ✓ |
| (d) or | M1 | For a rearrangement with the terms on one side and the numerical terms on the other in a correct inequality, or for the correct simplification of the terms or of the numbers on one side in a correct inequality. The sign may be or the incorrect inequality sign. | ✓ |
| (d) or | M1 | For the correct simplification of the terms on one side and the numbers on the other side in a correct inequality, or for a correct inequality with the wrong sign. The sign may be or the incorrect inequality sign. | ✓ |
| (d) | A1 | Or equivalent, for example or . It must be given as the correct inequality on the answer line. A correct answer scores full marks unless it comes from obviously incorrect working. | ✓ |
Full marks: 9/9
Question 8, Calculator allowed
is a trapezium.
Angle and angle are right angles.
cm
cm
The area of the trapezium is cm²
Work out the perimeter of the trapezium. [6 marks]
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Question 8 - Exam Solution
- Both and are perpendicular to , so they are the parallel sides and is the distance between them.
- Put the given area into the trapezium formula and solve for the missing parallel side .
- Drop a perpendicular from to , meeting it at . That cuts the trapezium into rectangle and right-angled triangle .
- Use Pythagoras in triangle to find the slant side , then add the four sides.
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| oe, or oe | M1 | for setting up an equation using the area of the trapezium, or for a method to find the area of the triangle | ✓ |
| or | A1 | could be seen on the diagram, where is the point on with perpendicular to | ✓ |
| or | M1 | allow use of their | ✓ |
| or | M1 | allow use of their | ✓ |
| oe, or oe | M1ft | dep on the previous two M marks, for a method to find the perimeter of the trapezium; allow use of their and their | ✓ |
| A1 | cao. A correct answer scores full marks unless it comes from obviously incorrect working. | ✓ |
Full marks: 6/6
Question 9, Calculator allowed
The straight line is drawn on the grid below.
Work out an equation of .
Give your answer in the form [3 marks]
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Question 9 - Exam Solution
- Pick two points where the line passes exactly through a crossing of the grid lines, so both coordinates can be read with nothing estimated.
- Divide the change in by the change in between those two points. That is the gradient.
- Read the value of where the line cuts the -axis. That is .
- Put both numbers into , then test the equation on a third point of the line.
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| One correct piece of the equation: the gradient , or , or with | B1 | The gradient alone scores, however it is written - , , or the working . The commonest loss is dividing the wrong way round, change in over change in , which gives and scores nothing. | ✓ |
| Both parts correct, but not yet written as | B2 | Award for with no in front, or for a correct equation in another form such as . Also award for or for with . | ✓ |
| The equation in the form asked for: | B3 | Accept any equivalent, for example , provided it is in the form . A correct equation left as scores of the marks, because the question names the form it wants. | ✓ |
Full marks: 3/3
Question 10, Calculator allowed
Here are the numbers of loaves of bread left unsold by a bakery at the end of each of its last days.
Work out the interquartile range of the numbers of loaves. [2 marks]
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Question 10 - Exam Solution
- Check the list really is in order, then count how many values there are: .
- Use the position rule. With every quartile position comes out a whole number, so no averaging of two values is needed.
- Find and by counting along the list to those positions - the mark scheme gives the method mark for these two values alone.
- Subtract: .
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Both quartiles correctly identified: and | M1 | Method mark for reading off both quartiles. Working that identifies the median may also be seen and is accepted as part of the method. | ✓ |
| A1 | cao. A correct answer of scores full marks, unless it comes from obviously incorrect working. | ✓ |
Full marks: 2/2
Question 11, Calculator allowed
Two numbers, and , are written below as products of their prime factors.
(a) Write down the highest common factor (HCF) of and
Write your answer as a product of prime factors. [2 marks]
(b) Work out the value of
Write your answer as a product of prime factors. [2 marks]
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Question 11 - Exam Solution
- Multiply each given number by its extra factor first: the in raises the index of by one, and the in raises the index of by one.
- For the HCF, compare the two lists prime by prime and keep the lower power each time.
- For part (b), build by adding the indices of each prime, then square the result by doubling every index.
- Never multiply the numbers out: the answer is wanted as a product of prime factors, and the indices carry all the information.
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Correct HCF as a product of prime factors | B2 | or equivalent, for example | ✓ |
| (a) Partially correct HCF | B1 | For with two of , , , or for without sight of the correct factorisation, or a fully correct Venn diagram for and , or an answer of or equivalent | ✓ |
| (b) A correct product of prime factors on the way to the answer | M1 | For any correct product of prime factors, for example , or , or , or for evaluated as , oe | ✓ |
| (b) Correct answer as a product of prime factors | A1 | or equivalent. A correct answer scores full marks unless it comes from obviously incorrect working. | ✓ |
| (b) Special case, if no other marks are earned | SC B1 | For with two of , , . The error behind it is doubling only some of the indices. | ✓ |
Full marks: 4/4
Question 12, Calculator allowed
Solve the simultaneous equations
You must show clear algebraic working. [4 marks]
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Question 12 - Exam Solution
- Both equations are linear, so use elimination: scale them until one unknown has the same coefficient in each.
- The terms are and , and the lowest common multiple of and is , so multiply the first equation by and the second by .
- Both scaled equations then have , so subtracting removes and leaves on its own.
- Substitute that value back into an original equation to get , then test the pair in both original equations.
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiply one or both equations so that one unknown has matching coefficients, with the correct operation selected, for example with , or with . | M1 | For multiplication of one or both equations with the correct operation selected (allow one arithmetic error). If the operation is not shown, assume it is the one that at least of the terms have been calculated for. A correct rearrangement of one equation with substitution into the other earns this mark instead. | ✓ |
| First unknown found: or . | A1 | Either value, or equivalent. dep on M1 | ✓ |
| Substitute the value found into one of the original equations, or repeat the scaling and subtraction for the second unknown. | dM1 | For substitution of the found variable, or for repeating the steps of the first M1 for the second variable. dep on M1 | ✓ |
| Both values stated, with the algebraic working shown: and . | A1 | Both values, or equivalent. Working required. dep on M1 | ✓ |
Full marks: 4/4
Question 13, Calculator allowed
, , and are four points on a circle whose centre is .
Angle is .
Work out the size of angle .
Give a reason for each stage of your working. [5 marks]
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Question 13 - Exam Solution
- The four vertices of all sit on the circle, so it is a cyclic quadrilateral. Its opposite angles add up to degrees, and that turns the marked angle at into angle .
- Angle and angle stand on the same arc , one at the circumference and one at the centre, so the angle at the centre is double the other one.
- Triangle has two sides that are radii, so it is isosceles. Sharing what is left of degrees between its two equal base angles gives the answer.
| Step | Mark | Description | Got it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angle : | M1 | Award for , or for the reflex angle route . Angles must be identified either by notation or by being correctly positioned on the diagram. | ✓ |
| Obtuse angle : | M1 dep | Dependent on the first M1. Award for , or for on the reflex route. The scheme prints both of those values in quotation marks, so a candidate's own earlier angle follows through. Angles must again be identified by notation or by position on the diagram. | ✓ |
| Angle = | A1 | A correct answer of scores the first three marks on its own, unless it comes from obviously incorrect working. | ✓ |
| All three reasons stated correctly for the method used | B2 | Dependent on a fully correct method for finding angle . The reasons are: opposite angles of a cyclic quadrilateral sum to degrees; the angle at the centre is twice the angle at the circumference, or equally the angle at the circumference is half the angle at the centre; the base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal and the angles in a triangle add to degrees. On the reflex route, angles around a point adding to degrees replaces the cyclic quadrilateral reason. | ✓ |
| Only one correct circle theorem given for their method | (B1) | Dependent on the first M1. One correct circle theorem for their own method earns one of the two reasoning marks. | ✓ |
| The reflex route is worth full marks | Note | A candidate who writes reflex first is on the mark scheme's second route: then , which reaches the same obtuse angle at the centre. | ✓ |
Full marks: 5/5
The remaining 10 questions, with the same full worked solutions and mark schemes
Frequently asked questions
There are 23 questions worth 100 marks in total, sat over 2 hours. It is Higher tier and a calculator is allowed throughout, unlike UK GCSE Maths, where one paper is non-calculator.
Higher tier targets grades 4 to 9, so the lower grades 1 to 3 are only reachable on the tier below. About 40 per cent of the questions are targeted at grades 4 and 5 and appear on both Paper 1FR and Paper 1HR, so the lowest grades on this Higher paper are the ones the two tiers share.
Yes. The paper states in its own instructions that without sufficient working, correct answers may be awarded no marks. Several questions ask you to show your working clearly or to show clear algebraic working, and on those a bare answer scores nothing. That is why every solution here sets out the method mark by mark.
Yes, a Higher tier formulae sheet is printed in the paper. It gives the area of a trapezium, the volume of a prism, the volume and curved surface area of a cylinder, the volume and curved surface area of a cone, the volume and surface area of a sphere, the area of a triangle from two sides and the included angle, the sine rule, the cosine rule, the sum of an arithmetic series and the quadratic formula. Other results, such as Pythagoras theorem and the trigonometric ratios for right-angled triangles, still have to be recalled. Nothing may be written on the formulae page.
Both are published by Pearson Edexcel and are linked directly from this page as PDF files. The solutions here are original: every question has been reworded, but all the numbers match the original paper, so the answers agree with the official mark scheme. This resource reproduces neither the exam paper nor the official mark scheme.
Keep revising
Once you have worked through this paper, read what the IGCSE is and how it is graded, or compare Edexcel 4MA1 with Cambridge 0580 if you are still choosing a board. Check the IGCSE grade boundaries to set your target, and if the exam is close, the four-week IGCSE Maths revision plan sets out what to do week by week.
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