AMC 8 prep
The AMC 8 is a 25-question, 40-minute multiple-choice contest from the Mathematical Association of America for students in grade 8 and below. It is where most people start.
AMC 8 at a glance
- Length
- 25 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, so about a minute and a half each.
- Who can enter
- Students in grade 8 and below.
- Scoring
- One point for each correct answer. There is no penalty for guessing.
What Lemmas has for the AMC 8
- Problems in the bank
- 1,025
- Years covered
- 1985 to 2026
- Median difficulty, out of 100
- 14
Lemmas holds 1,025 AMC 8 problems from 1985 to 2026, grouped into 41 papers. Their ratings run from 3 to 40, and half of them sit between 9 and 18. The median of 14 is 8 points below the AMC 10's 22.
Arena runs any of those papers on the MAA's 40-minute clock and keeps the answers sealed until time is up. How the ratings are built is explained on the About page.
Early problems against late ones
Position tracks difficulty closely on the AMC 8, and the last 8 problems rate 12 points above the first 8 at the median.
- Problems 1 to 8, median rating
- 8
- Problems 9 to 17, median rating
- 14
- Problems 18 to 25, median rating
- 20
The clock leaves 1 minute 36 seconds for each question, which is 40 minutes divided by 25.
AMC 8 problems by subject
Algebra is the biggest subject, with 495 problems or 48% of the bank, and Number Theory is the smallest with 126.
- Algebra, 48% of the bank
- 495
- Geometry, 22% of the bank
- 230
- Combinatorics, 17% of the bank
- 174
- Number Theory, 12% of the bank
- 126
Who this is for
The questions on the AMC 8 are short and the ideas are small ones. With 40 minutes for 25 questions and no penalty for guessing, it is the place to learn what a contest problem feels like before the clock gets serious. It suits a new student, or the person teaching one, at least at first.
Run a few past papers on the 40-minute clock before the day, and look at each miss again a couple of days later.
Take the ten-problem starting-level set, then move to Sweet spot sets, which keep each question a little above what you can already do. If you open a hint, the first one shows the formula cards that fit and names the idea the problem wanted.
Moving up to the AMC 10
Time and scoring change first. The AMC 10 gives 25 questions 75 minutes, a correct answer is worth 6 points, a blank is worth 1.5 and a wrong answer is worth nothing, so a blind guess stops being free. The AMC 10 also opens one of the two ways into the AIME.
Questions about the AMC 8
Does a wrong answer cost points on the AMC 8?
No. Your score is the number of questions you get right, so an educated guess is always worth making.
How should I pace the AMC 8?
Forty minutes for 25 questions is about 1 minute 36 seconds each. On most papers the early questions go fast and the last few take the time, so it pays to bank some early.
What comes after the AMC 8?
The AMC 10, which uses the same multiple-choice format with harder questions and a 75-minute clock.
Where the AMC 8 problems come from
The Mathematical Association of America gave Lemmas written permission to use its AMC 8 problems, and each one is credited to the MAA and links back to its page.
AMC 8 on the Mathematical Association of America website (opens in a new tab)
Make an account and try your first problem.
Username, email and password. No card.