UniGeniusNational 5 Maths

National 5 Maths

National 5 Maths Paper 1: preparing for the non-calculator paper

Paper 1 is 1 hour, 40 marks, with no calculator. Any skill in the course can appear, so fractions, surds, indices and clean algebra carry the marks.

Time1 hour
Marks40 of the 90
CalculatorNot allowed
QuestionsShort-answer and extended-response, all compulsory

Have these ready by hand

  • The four operations with fractions and mixed numbers.
  • Simplifying surds, rationalising denominators and the laws of indices, including fractional and negative powers.
  • Expanding, factorising and completing the square, and solving quadratic equations by factorising.

Show the working

Marks are given for each stage of working, so write one step a line. A bare answer can lose the method marks even when it is right.

Try 2 questions

Question 1Paper 1 style · no calculator
Calculate .
Question 2Paper 1 style · no calculator
Factorise fully 3x2−123x^2 - 12.

Next step

Take the free testStart the surds and indices lesson

Questions people ask

Which topics can be on Paper 1?

Any skill in the course. Questions are set so the arithmetic can be done by hand.

Do I need to rationalise denominators?

Yes. Simplifying surds and rationalising denominators are both in the course.