AMC 12 prep
The AMC 12 is a 25-question, 75-minute multiple-choice contest for students in grade 12 and below. Its last questions reach into pre-calculus ideas and it feeds the AIME.
AMC 12 at a glance
- Length
- 25 multiple-choice questions in 75 minutes.
- Who can enter
- Anyone in grade 12 or below.
- Scoring
- Out of 150: 6 points for each correct answer, 1.5 for a blank and nothing for a wrong one.
- AIME qualifying score
- From the 2026-27 cycle, 85 or above on the AMC 12.
What Lemmas has for the AMC 12
- Problems in the bank
- 1,299
- Years covered
- 2000 to 2025
- Median difficulty, out of 100
- 28
A median of 28 puts the AMC 12 6 points above the AMC 10's 22. The bank has 1,299 problems in 52 papers, 2000 to 2025, rated 5 to 61 with the middle half between 19 and 38.
In Arena the 52 papers run on the same 75-minute clock as the real exam. The scale is the same 1 to 100 one every contest uses, and the About page describes how it is measured.
Early and late on the AMC 12
Problems 18 to 25 have a median rating of 42 on the AMC 12 and 34 on the AMC 10, a gap of 8 points. For problems 1 to 8 the gap is 2.
- Problems 1 to 8, median rating
- 16
- Problems 9 to 17, median rating
- 28
- Problems 18 to 25, median rating
- 42
The clock is the AMC 10's: 75 minutes for 25 questions, or 3 minutes each.
How the AMC 12 bank divides
Set against the AMC 10, Algebra takes a larger share of the AMC 12 bank: 43% of its problems against 38%.
- Algebra, 43% of the bank
- 562
- Geometry, 32% of the bank
- 411
- Number Theory, 13% of the bank
- 173
- Combinatorics, 12% of the bank
- 153
Who this is for
The AMC 12 and the AMC 10 share about a dozen questions, and the AMC 12 climbs from there. The second half draws on trigonometry, logarithms and complex numbers, which suits a student who has outgrown the AMC 10 and wants the same 25 questions at a higher level.
Students coming from the AMC 10 will recognize the questions the two papers share. The practice that matters most is the second half of the paper, under time.
The AMC 12 simulation preset in Arena sets the contest's clock and scoring. Stretch sets keep pushing the next problem up while you keep answering, and the Skill shape chart shows which subject is holding your score back.
What the AIME changes
Choices disappear on the AIME. Every answer is a whole number from 0 to 999, so nothing can be worked backward from an option. Fifteen questions get three hours, which is 12 minutes each against about 3 on the AMC 12, and from the 2026-27 cycle a score of 100 on the AMC 10 or 85 on the AMC 12 earns the invitation.
Questions about the AMC 12
What is on the AMC 12 that is not on the AMC 10?
The two papers share about a dozen questions, and the later AMC 12 problems expect trigonometry, logarithms and complex numbers, which the AMC 10 mostly avoids.
How long should I give each AMC 12 question?
Three minutes on average, with the early questions taking one or two and the last few taking five or more. The Time left clock on each Lemmas question counts down from 2:30.
What AMC 12 score qualifies for the AIME?
From the 2026-27 cycle the MAA fixes it at 85 on the AMC 12 (100 on the AMC 10). The MAA's AIME page lists later cycles.
Which students can take the AMC 12?
Anyone in grade 12 or below, which includes younger students who are ready for it. The AIME can be reached from either the AMC 10 or the AMC 12.
Where the AMC 12 problems come from
Every AMC 12 problem is used with written permission from the MAA, which owns the exam, and carries its year and number.
AMC 12 on the Mathematical Association of America website (opens in a new tab)
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