Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Mathematics (Specification A) · 4MA1 · Free · no account needed
Quadratic & Other Curves — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on quadratic & Other Curves, 24 marks, about 29 minutes of writing. Each one carries the command word, the tariff and the specification statement it assesses, exactly as a paper presents them. This is an original Incandio practice question, written to reflect the structure and demands of the qualification. It is not an official Pearson Edexcel past-paper question.
This is the practice set for Quadratic & Other Curves — the module that teaches it. Read the module first if the idea is new; come here when you want to find out whether you can turn it into marks. Completely free, no account needed to read.
What these questions ask of you
5 command words run through this set, and on Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Mathematics A each one means something precise. Answering the wrong command is the commonest way a candidate who understands the module still loses the mark.
- Write down (1–2 marks)
- a value that needs no working — read off, recalled or stated
- Work out (1–5 marks)
- a calculated result, with the working that produced it
- Explain why (1–2 marks)
- one short justification — mathematics almost never asks for extended explanation
- Find (1–5 marks)
- a value or expression obtained by a method the learner chooses
- Show that (2–5 marks)
- every step of a derivation to a value that is already printed in the question Misread as: stating the printed answer again instead of deriving it
Assessed on Paper 1 and Paper 2.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Mathematics A (4MA1) — statement 3.3. Incandio is aligned to this specification; it is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's wording.
The 10 questions
Answer them on paper, then open the module's exam practice to have them marked. The mark scheme, the accepted and rejected answers and the annotated model answer are in Incandio and are not printed here — an answer beside its question is not practice.
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(1)Write down
Write down the coordinates of the point where y = x² − 4 crosses the y-axis.
(Total for Question 1 = 1 mark)
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(2)Work out
The curve y = x² − 2x − 3 passes through a point where x = −3. Work out the value of y there.
(Total for Question 2 = 2 marks)
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(2)Write down
Write down the coordinates of the turning point of the curve y = (x − 2)² + 5.
(Total for Question 3 = 2 marks)
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(1)Explain why
Explain why the graph of y = x² + 3 never crosses the x-axis.
(Total for Question 4 = 1 mark)
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(2)Write down
The curve y = 1/x has two separate branches. Write down the one value of x for which y has no value, and give a reason.
(Total for Question 5 = 2 marks)
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(3)Find
Find the coordinates of the two points where y = x² − x − 6 crosses the x-axis.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Work out
Work out estimates for the two solutions of x² − 3x − 1 = 0, using Figure 1.
Figure 1 — the graph of y = x² − 3x − 1. Plotted as a line; the graph is drawn in Incandio and the readings are below. x y -2 9 -1 3 0 -1 1 -3 2 -3 3 -1 4 3 5 9 (Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(3)Show that
Show that the smallest value of x² − 6x + 11 is 2.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(3)Find
Find the equation of the line of symmetry of the curve y = x² + 8x + 7.
(Total for Question 9 = 3 marks)
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(4)Work out
The line y = x + 1 meets the curve y = x² − 2x + 1 at two points. Work out the coordinates of both points.
(Total for Question 10 = 4 marks)
Have them marked, then defend the answer
Practice tells you the mark; teaching it back tells you whether you understand it. On Incandio a topic counts as mastered only once you have taught it and defended it.
- Mark these questions — 10 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain quadratic & Other Curves to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Galileo Galilei over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
Completely free. No subscriptions, no paywalls, no account needed to start.
Back to the module
- Quadratic & Other Curves — Parabolas, cubics and reciprocal curves — reading intercepts, turning points and symmetry, and solving equations where curves meet lines.
- All of Incandio Mathematics · Incandio Exam Practice