AMC 10 Step by Step

Build a plan for your own weeks and weak topics

Twelve-Week Plan

Assumes about 5–6 hours per week. Each week has a reading part (topic pages), a problem part (sets on the site) and a review part (your error queue). The review part is not optional; it is where the score comes from.

The weekly rhythm

DayActivityTime
1Read the week's topic pages; work the examples on paper60 min
2Topic set A (site: Practice → category or topic)45 min
3Review queue (site: Review) + error log entries30 min
4Topic set B45 min
5"Recommended for you" practice (weak topics)45 min
6Timed mini-mock or full mock (see schedule)45–75 min
7Go through every miss from the week with the solutions; write one line per miss in the error log45 min

Schedule

Weeks 1–2: Foundations and error hygiene

  • Read: Overview & scoring, Formulas & facts. Memorize the cheat sheet items marked "must".
  • Sets: S01 Problems 1–10 drill, S02 Problems 11–15 drill. Goal: 100% on S01 with time to spare.
  • Track adjustments: Foundation track also reads the topic pages for its two weakest categories.
  • Checkpoint end of week 2: 2019 AMC 10B, timed. Target: no wrong answers in 1–12.

Weeks 3–8: Topic cycles (two topics per week)

Order the cycles by your diagnostic: weakest category first. A suggested default order, which matches how often each area appears in problems 11–20:

WeekTopic ATopic B
3Counting: basic counting, arrangements with restrictionsNumber theory: divisibility & factors, primes
4Geometry: triangles (area, Pythagorean, similar)Algebra: linear word problems, ratios & percents
5Probability (basic, conditional, geometric)Number theory: modular arithmetic, bases & digits
6Geometry: circles, quadrilateral areasAlgebra: quadratics, sequences
7Counting: stars and bars, inclusion-exclusion, pathsGeometry: coordinate, solid
8Algebra: functions, manipulation tricksStatistics, logic, clocks; expected value

Each week: read the two topic pages, do the topic sets (S05–S09 by category, then the leaf's problem list from easiest up), and add every miss to the error queue.

  • Checkpoint end of week 6: 2023 AMC 10A, timed. Re-choose your track for weeks 9–12.

Weeks 9–11: Mixed timed work

  • Sets: S14–S16 Qualifying zone (difficulty 3–4, 15 problems in 45 minutes), one per week.
  • Sets: S10–S13 technique sets for any technique still below 70% on your dashboard.
  • Two full contests under exam conditions (pick any 10A/10B from 2016–2021 not yet used), one in week 9 and one in week 11.
  • Every miss goes through the error log with a named cause.

Week 12: Taper

  • No new topics. Re-do every problem in the review queue until it is empty.
  • One last full contest (2024 AMC 10B) five to seven days before the real exam, then only light review.
  • Re-read the scoring strategy: 4-minute rule, guess only with two eliminations, last five minutes for checking 1–10.

Tracks

Foundation (diagnostic below 80). Spend weeks 3–8 at difficulty 1–3 only. Add a third weekly topic day instead of the mini mock until S01 and S02 are at 100%. Move to Consolidation when a timed mock has no wrong answers in 1–12.

Consolidation (80–100). Follow the schedule as written. Prioritize the categories where the diagnostic showed W or B-could in 11–20.

Sharpening (above 100). Replace topic sets with the leaf pages' difficulty 4 problems in your weakest three leaves, take S14–S16 in weeks 5–7, and do a full contest every second week from week 3.

Signs the plan is working

  • Wrong answers in 1–12 reach zero on timed tests by week 4.
  • Dashboard accuracy for problems 11–15 above 85% by week 6.
  • Review queue stays under 15 problems.
  • Timed score rises about 6–9 points every two weeks; that is one or two more correct answers.