Edexcel GCSE Business guide FAQ (1BS0)
Guide overview All 10 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
Edexcel GCSE Business: questions and answers
Specification 1BS0. Two sets, because students and parents ask different things.
For students
Which topics are on which paper?
Paper 1 covers enterprise and entrepreneurship, spotting a business opportunity, putting a business idea into practice, making the business effective, and understanding external influences. Paper 2 covers growing the business, and marketing, operational, financial and human resource decisions.
Each paper may also draw on the other theme, so neither is ever finished with. The full breakdown is here.
Do I need a calculator?
Yes, and the calculations are worth real marks on both papers: break-even, cash flow, profit margins, average rate of return and market share. They are in the guide with the method as well as the answer.
Is there coursework?
No. 1BS0 is assessed entirely by the two written papers.
How much do I need to know about real businesses?
Sections B and C of each paper are set in business contexts supplied in the exam, so you are not asked to recall a specific company. What you are asked for is the concept applied to the context you are given, which is why the concepts have to be solid.
How long does one session take?
About twenty minutes for one subtopic, all three steps. Topics run from 32 to 79 questions, so two to four sessions each.
Can I do it in my head instead of writing?
Write. The extended answers want a defined term, a worked figure and a judgement, and step 2 is where the difference between your version and the printed one gets fixed. The method page sets out the evidence.
When should I start?
Any point in Year 10 or Year 11. Both papers are sat at the end of Year 11 and cover the full two years.
Do I still need past papers?
Yes. Past papers train the twelve-mark evaluations and the context questions. Pearson publishes them free.
For parents
What is this, in plain terms?
A PDF of 672 exam-style questions covering the whole of Edexcel GCSE Business, with the answers printed after each topic.
How do I check it is the right course?
The specification code is on the exam timetable. Edexcel GCSE Business is 1BS0.
How do I know if it is being used properly?
There should be handwritten answers on paper and three passes over the same questions, and two scores per session to compare.
My child revises for hours and the grades have not moved.
Rereading and highlighting are the two most common revision activities and Dunlosky and colleagues rated both low utility in their 2013 review of ten techniques. The method page sets out what to do instead.
How much is it compared with a textbook?
£7.00 for the whole specification. A GCSE Business revision guide is usually £6 to £10 and a full textbook £20 to £30.
How much time does it take?
43 subtopics at roughly twenty minutes each is about 14 hours for a full first pass, spread across two years.
What else does my child need?
Past papers, free from Pearson, a calculator, and their own notes.
Edexcel GCSE Business Active Recall Guide
672 questions with their answers, 43 subtopics, one file.