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 option correctly uses 'who' vs 'whom'? → To whom did you speak?
5. Which one of these is a non-standard example of leaving out a preposition? → That's my new jumper. My mum gave it me
6. 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
7. Which of the following best describes 'pathetic fallacy'? → Giving human feelings to natural elements to reflect the mood
8. When analysing the tone of an unseen poem, which of the following best defines 'tone'? → The attitude of the speaker or poet toward the subject
9. 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
10. Which article of the Weimar Constitution allowed the President to rule by emergency decree? → Article 48
11. Who is engaged to Sheila Birling at the start of the play? → Gerald Croft
12. Which of the following is the best definition of 'connotation' in poetry analysis? → The associations and emotions a word carries beyond its literal meaning
13. What term describes an organism that obtains energy by breaking down dead organic matter? → Decomposer
14. What exactly is an acid? → A substance that produces H+ ions when added to water
15. The exchange rate is £1 = €1.15. How many euros would you get for £240? → €276.00
16. What was the significance of the Reichstag Fire of February 1933 for Hitler's consolidation of power? → It gave Hitler an excuse to suspend civil liberties and arrest communist opponents
17. A fluorine atom has 9 protons. A fluoride ion (F⁻) has: → 10 electrons
18. The metabolic rate is the speed at which chemical reactions occurs in the → Cells
19. Which of the following equations has exactly one repeated root? → x² − 6x + 9 = 0
20. What is the role of guard cells in a plant leaf? → Regulate the opening and closing of stomata
21. What hard engineering structure is built out into the sea, perpendicular to the coast, to trap sediment moved by longshore drift? → A groyne
22. What is 'desertification'? → The process by which fertile land becomes increasingly arid and desert-like
23. An element X is in Period 3, Group 6 of the periodic table. How many outer shell electrons does it have? → 6
24. What name was given to the night of 9–10 November 1938 when Jewish businesses and synagogues were attacked across Germany? → Kristallnacht
25. What does Human Development Index mean? → A measure of the non-economic aspects of a country's economy
26. How does the theme of the supernatural interact with the theme of free will in Macbeth? → The supernatural provides context but humans retain moral agency
27. What happens to the atomic radius as you move across a period from left to right? → It decreases
28. Which illness was erroneously associated with the MMR vaccine? → Autism
29. A spinner has 8 equal sections numbered 1 to 8. What is the probability of landing on an even number? → 1/2
30. NATO was formed in 1949 as a military alliance primarily to counter which threat? → Soviet communist expansion