GCSE Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield GCSE facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Calculate 9 - 2x = 3 (x + 2) → x = 3/5
2. Which of the following sentences needs a semi-colon in place of the colon? → Jews worship in a synagogue: Muslims worship in a mosque.
3. Pick the following phrase that effectively employs capital letters. → The League of Nations was the idea of Woodrow Wilson.
4. Which one of these is a non-standard example of leaving out a preposition? → That's my new jumper. My mum gave it me
5. 9, 10, 25, 32, 49, 55, 69, 80a) Write down two numbers that add up to 57b) Write down an 8 multiple c) Write down a square number from the list → 32 and 25 b) 32 c) 25
6. Lady Macbeth's instruction to her husband to "look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under't" is a powerful expression of which theme? → Appearance vs. Reality
7. What exactly is an acid? → A substance that produces H+ ions when added to water
8. The metabolic rate is the speed at which chemical reactions occurs in the → Cells
9. What does Human Development Index mean? → A measure of the non-economic aspects of a country's economy
10. Which illness was erroneously associated with the MMR vaccine? → Autism
11. NATO was formed in 1949 as a military alliance primarily to counter which threat? → Soviet communist expansion
12. What exactly is a "hypotenuse"? → the longest side of a right angled triangle
13. Which of the following best describes inertia? → The tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion.
14. Which of the following doesn't count as an ecotourism benefit? → Sustainable hunting can give money to regions with no other tourist resources
15. The following word equation illustrates what kind of reaction. Hydrochloric acid + sodium hydroxide → sodium chloride + water → Neutralisation
16. Where do viruses reside? → Host cells
17. Which of the following was a direct consequence of the Reichstag Fire in February 1933? → The issuing of the Decree for the Protection of People and State.
18. Identify the definition's appropriate literary device. The repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together. → Assonance
19. In which year did the Soviet Union officially dissolve, marking the end of the Cold War? → 1991
20. Decide which of the following sentences has inappropriate punctuation. → Ross said, “the hills are covered with snow.”
21. Which of the following gaps cannot be filled in with the word "whose"? → Catholics often pray to a saint on behalf of someone _____ suffering.
22. What does nanotechnology mean? → The manipulation of matter on an atomic level
23. What was the purpose of the Marshall Plan (1948)? → To rebuild European economies to prevent the spread of communism.
24. When analysing an unseen poem, what is a likely effect of enjambment, where a line of poetry runs onto the next without punctuation? → To create a faster pace or a sense of overflowing emotion.
25. Most speeches are intended to... → influence people
26. A line in an unseen poem reads: "The sea slithers, whispering secrets to the sand." The repetition of the 's' sound is an example of which poetic device? → Sibilance
27. Which one of the following is untrue? → A pair of trousers is drying on the radiator.
28. What impact does the carbon monoxide in cigar smoke have? → It reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of blood
29. When limestone (calcium carbonate) is heated, calcium oxide is produced. What kind of reaction occurs? → Thermal decomposition
30. A student argues that the Witches' prophecies are the sole cause of Macbeth's tragedy. Which theme offers the strongest counter-argument to this interpretation? → Fate vs. Free Will