National 4 Maths: units, the added value test and practice questions

There is no National 4 exam to mock, so treat the National 4 daily paper as practice for your unit assessments and the test, and the National 5 paper as a look at what comes next.

How National 4 Maths is assessed

The National 4 Mathematics course specification sets out four units, each worth 6 credit points at SCQF level 4, making 24 in all.

• Assessed in school. Every unit is internally assessed, either one at a time or combined.
• Pass or fail. Each unit is a pass or a fail, and Qualifications Scotland checks schools' judgements through external verification.
• Not graded. To get the course you must pass all four units, including the test. There are no A to D grades at National 4.
• No date in the exam timetable. National 4 courses don't appear in the 2027 exam timetable, because your school sets when you are assessed.

Qualifications Scotland replaced SQA as the national awarding body on 1 February 2026, and says the course documents remain current.

From National 4 to National 5

The course specification lists National 5 Mathematics, National 5 Applications of Mathematics and the National 5 Numeracy unit as next steps. National 5 does have an exam: in 2027, National 5 Maths is on Monday 17 May and National 5 Applications of Mathematics on Monday 26 April. If you might move up, the National 5 daily paper shows the step in difficulty.

National 4 Maths practice questions

We wrote these questions for this guide, one or two from each unit. Try them before reading the answers.

Expressions and Formulae

Question 1: simplify 3a + 5b − a + 2b. Answer: collect the a terms and the b terms: 2a + 7b.

Question 2: the perimeter of a rectangle is P = 2(l + b). Find P when l = 7 and b = 4.5. Answer: P = 2 × (7 + 4.5) = 2 × 11.5 = 23. Do the bracket first. Try collecting like terms yourself from our Algebra course and press Mark.

Relationships

Question 3: solve 4x + 3 = 23. Answer: take 3 from both sides to get 4x = 20, then divide by 4: x = 5.

Question 4: find the length of the longest side of this right-angled triangle.

Answer: by Pythagoras' theorem, x² = 8² + 6² = 64 + 36 = 100, so x = 10 cm.

Numeracy

Question 5: a phone costs £240. It is reduced by 15% in a sale. What is the sale price? Answer: 10% is £24 and 5% is £12, so 15% is £36. The sale price is £240 − £36 = £204.

Question 6: a bus leaves at 14:35 and arrives at 16:10. How long is the journey? Answer: from 14:35 to 15:35 is 1 hour, and from 15:35 to 16:10 is 35 minutes, so the journey takes 1 hour 35 minutes. Count on in steps rather than subtracting the times like decimals.

Common mistakes

• Collecting unlike terms. 2a + 7b can't be simplified any further.
• Ignoring the bracket when substituting into a formula.
• Adding the sides in Pythagoras instead of adding their squares.
• Subtracting times as decimals. An hour has 60 minutes, not 100.
• Leaving out units such as cm or £.

Practise with a daily paper

Sit today's National 4 Maths paper to practise for your unit assessments and the test. When you are ready for more, try the National 5 Maths paper.

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