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AMC 10 & 12

Pacing & Triage

A three-pass plan for the full 75 minutes — because running out of time on problem 20 while problem 8 sits unsolved is a pacing failure, not a math failure.

The AMC gives you 75 minutes for 25 problems, but the problems are not equally difficult — they’re roughly ordered from easiest to hardest. Treating every problem as worth the same 3 minutes is the single most common pacing mistake.

The three-pass structure

  • Pass 1 (Problems 1–15, ~45 minutes): These should be solvable reliably. Prioritize accuracy over speed here — a careless error on an easy problem costs exactly as many points as missing a hard one, but is far more avoidable.
  • Pass 2 (Problems 16–25, ~25 minutes): Harder problems. Triage aggressively: if a problem isn’t yielding to your first approach within a couple minutes, mark it and move on. You can always return.
  • Pass 3 (final ~5 minutes): Verification and cleanup — recheck answers you weren’t fully confident in, and make sure every bubble is filled (guessing, per the next lesson, is usually better than leaving a blank).

Checkpoints

A simple self-monitoring habit: periodically check your problem number against the clock. If you’re on problem 10 at the 30-minute mark, you’re behind pace and should tighten up; if you’re on problem 15 at 30 minutes, you’re in good shape to spend real time on the harder half.

Recovering momentum

Getting stuck on one problem for too long doesn’t just cost time on that problem — it costs focus on every problem after it. If a problem has resisted two genuinely different approaches, that’s your signal to move on rather than push through a third attempt at the same dead end.

Applying it

Scenario: You’re 40 minutes in and still on problem 12, which you’ve been stuck on for 6 minutes.

Response: Mark problem 12 and move to problem 13. You have 35 minutes left for 13 problems plus review — spending more time on one stuck problem risks leaving several easier, faster problems unattempted later in the set.

Practice problems

1.You're at the 45-minute mark and just finished problem 15, exactly on pace. How should you approach the next 25 minutes?

2.At the 30-minute checkpoint you're only on problem 8. What does this suggest, and what should you do?

3.With 5 minutes left, you have 2 unanswered problems and 3 you're unsure about. How should you spend the time?

4.Why is spending equal time per problem usually a mistake on the AMC?

Elimination & Guessing