# M2 CCEA GCSE Maths Curriculum

This is a quick over view of the topics in the M2 CCEA GCSE Maths curriculum.

M2 is the gateway paper and the completion paper is M6. Read about the M6 CCEA GCSE Maths Curriculum here.

Buy our M2 CCEA Style Practice Papers here.

## M2 CCEA GCSE Maths Curriculum – Foundation

M2 – this can be sat in January or June and makes up 45% of the overall score. The final grades the can be achieved are *C – G. The exam is 1 hour and 45 minutes long. Students can use a calculator.

Students should learn the M1 curriculum before starting M2.

#### Learning Outcomes For M2 CCEA GCSE Maths Curriculum:

##### Number and Algebra
• use index notation and index laws for positive, whole number powers
• use the concepts and vocabulary of divisor, highest common factor, least (lowest) common multiple and prime factor decomposition
• add, subtract, multiply and divide decimals of any size
• round to a specified or appropriate number of significant figures
• recognise that recurring decimals are exact fractions and that some exact fractions are recurring decimals; add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions, including mixed numbers; use percentage and repeated proportional change
• calculate with money and solve problems in a finance context, for example compound interest, insurance, taxation, mortgages and investments; simplify and manipulate algebraic expressions by multiplying a single term over a bracket
• manipulate algebraic expressions by taking out common factors that are terms
• set up and solve linear equations in one unknown, including those with the unknown on both sides of the equation and equations of the form: $$\frac{x}{4}+3=7$$
• find the midpoint and length of a line given in 2D co-ordinates
• find and interpret gradients and intercepts of linear graphs, for example plot and interpret the graph of the cost of car hire at £40 per day plus a cost of 20p per mile;
##### Geometry and Measures
• use compound measures or units such as density
• calculate perimeters and areas of kite, parallelogram, rhombus and trapezium
• calculate perimeters and areas of composite shapes
• calculate volumes of right prisms; and use Pythagoras’ theorem in 2D problems.
##### Data Handling
• use 3 circle Venn diagrams to sort data
• estimate mean from a grouped frequency distribution
• identify the modal class and the median class from a grouped frequency distribution
• draw and/or use lines of best fit by eye, understanding what these lines represent
• draw conclusions from scatter diagrams; use terms such as positive correlation, negative correlation and little or no correlation
• interpolate and extrapolate from data and know the dangers of doing so
• identify outliers; and appreciate that correlation does not imply causality

Find out more on the CCEA website.