Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Mathematics (Specification A) · 4MA1 · Free · no account needed
Quadratic Sequences — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on Quadratic Sequences, 25 marks, about 31 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 Sequences — 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 3.1. 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
A sequence begins 3, 8, 15, 24, … Write down the next term.
next term = ............................
(Total for Question 1 = 1 mark)
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(2)Work out
Work out the second difference of the sequence 2, 9, 20, 35, 54.
(Total for Question 2 = 2 marks)
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(1)Explain why
Explain why the sequence 4, 7, 12, 19, 28 is not a linear sequence.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(2)Write down
A pattern of dots grows so that pattern n contains n² − n dots. Write down the number of dots in each of the first four patterns.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
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(3)Find
Find the nth term of the quadratic sequence 3, 8, 15, 24, …
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(3)Find
Find, in terms of n, the nth term of the sequence 2, 9, 20, 35, 54.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Show that
Show that the sequence 5, 12, 23, 38, … has nth term 2n² + n + 2.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(3)Work out
Pattern n in a tiling design uses n² − 4n + 7 tiles. Work out how many tiles pattern 12 uses.
(Total for Question 8 = 3 marks)
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(3)Work out
The nth term of a sequence is n² + 5. Work out which term of this sequence is equal to 149.
(Total for Question 9 = 3 marks)
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(4)Find
Find the nth term of the sequence 1, 6, 15, 28, 45.
(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 Sequences to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Leonardo Fibonacci 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 Sequences — Sequences whose differences themselves change — spotting the n² engine underneath and building the exact rule. Higher Tier.
- All of Incandio Mathematics · Incandio Exam Practice