Yes: on each competition date, part of the AMC 10 is also the AMC 12. In the eight A and B paper pairs from 2022 to 2025 that we checked, 10 to 13 of 25 problems appeared on both papers, always at the same number or earlier on the AMC 12. That overlap decides which past papers still work as clean mocks, and gives younger students a cheap test of AMC 12 readiness.
The count is our own. For each date we matched every AMC 10 problem against the AMC 12 paper given on the same day, counting only problems that appear on both papers rather than problems that merely look alike. It describes recent papers; it is not an MAA statistic, and nothing guarantees that the 2026 papers will follow the same pattern.
What the overlap looks like in recent papers
| Date | Problems on both papers | Shared at the same number | Largest move earlier on the AMC 12 | Latest AMC 10 problem also on the AMC 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 B | 12 of 25 | #1, #2, #4 | 4 places (10B #19 → 12B #15) | 10B #24 → 12B #20 |
| 2025 A | 10 of 25 | #1, #2 | 8 places (10A #13 → 12A #5) | 10A #24 → 12A #23 |
| 2024 B | 11 of 25 | #1 to #5 | 6 places (10B #22 → 12B #16) | 10B #23 → 12B #18 |
| 2024 A | 11 of 25 | #1, #2 | 7 places (10A #18 → 12A #11) | 10A #25 → 12A #22 |
| 2023 B | 11 of 25 | #1 to #4, and #25 | 6 places (10B #12 → 12B #6) | 10B #25 → 12B #25 |
| 2023 A | 11 of 25 | #1 to #3 | 4 places (10A #22 → 12A #18) | 10A #25 → 12A #21 |
| 2022 B | 13 of 25 | #1, #2 | 3 places (10B #6 → 12B #3) | 10B #25 → 12B #23 |
| 2022 A | 12 of 25 | #1, #18, #24 | 4 places (10A #14 → 12A #10) | 10A #24 → 12A #24 |
Across the eight pairs, 91 of 200 AMC 10 problems — 45.5% — also appeared on the AMC 12. Two patterns held in every pair, one held in most, and one did not:
- Order is preserved. Shared problems appear in the same order on both papers, and never later on the AMC 12 than on the AMC 10.
- The overlap reaches the end of the AMC 10. Every pair shared at least one AMC 10 problem numbered 21 or higher. In 2023 B the last problem of the AMC 10 was also the last problem of the AMC 12.
- The AMC 12 opens steeper. In six of the eight pairs, the AMC 12’s first twelve problems included at least one problem numbered 13 or later on the AMC 10. In 2025 A, AMC 12 problem 5 was AMC 10 problem 13.
- The openings are not always shared. Problems 1 and 2 were identical on both papers in seven of the eight pairs; the exception was 2022 A, where problem 1 matched but problem 2 did not.
Seal mock papers by date, not by paper
A paper you have already seen cannot measure you, which is why the usual advice is to keep a few past papers sealed for full timed sittings in October. The overlap adds a rule that is easy to miss: a sealed AMC 12 is not sealed if you have done the AMC 10 from the same date. Roughly two-fifths of it will be problems you have already met, and your score on it will flatter you.
The trap is sharpest for a common path. A student who worked through the AMC 10 papers of 2023 to 2025 in Grade 9 and 10, then moves to the AMC 12, finds that every AMC 12 paper from those six dates already contains 10 to 12 problems they have met. They have fewer clean AMC 12 mocks than their folder suggests — possibly none from those years.
- Label sealed material by date. Write “2024 A date”, not “2024 AMC 12A”. Opening either paper opens part of the other.
- Sit the paper you most need clean first. If you will want the AMC 12 as a full mock later, do not practise from its same-date AMC 10 in the meantime.
- Turn part-used papers into remainder sets. Take only the problems you have not seen — 12 to 15 of them — and give yourself about 3 minutes each, the paper’s own average of 75 minutes over 25 problems. It is training, not a measurement.
- Map the overlap before you plan. For dates outside the table above, lay the two papers side by side; identical problems are quick to spot, and a two-column list of pairs is all you need.
Your final full mocks should copy the real sitting as closely as you can: printed paper, no calculator, one continuous 75 minutes. The 2026 in-person AMC rules set out the conditions those mocks should reproduce.
One AMC 10 mock, two readings: splicing an AMC 12 estimate
The overlap has an upside for students choosing a paper. Per MAA, the AMC 10 is open to students in grades 10 and below who are under 17.5 on the day of the competition, and the AMC 12 to grades 12 and below and under 19.5, so many Grade 9 and 10 students are eligible for both. For the 2027 AIME, MAA has fixed the qualifying scores at 100 on the AMC 10 and 85 on the AMC 12. Because two-fifths of a date’s AMC 12 is already inside its AMC 10, one mock can produce a rough reading against both lines.
- Sit a date’s AMC 10 paper under full conditions and mark it: 6 points for a correct answer, 1.5 for a blank, 0 for a wrong answer.
- Split your marked paper into the problems that also appear on that date’s AMC 12 and the problems that do not.
- Within a day or two, sit only the AMC 12 problems from the same date that you have not seen, on the 3-minute-a-problem clock.
- Add your points on the shared problems, carried over unchanged, to your points on the new AMC 12 problems.
- Read the AMC 10 score against 100 and the spliced AMC 12 estimate against 85.
Treat the spliced number as an estimate with an error of a question or two, for three reasons. A late AMC 10 problem you left blank for lack of time sits earlier on the AMC 12, where you might have reached it, so the carried-over part can understate you. The new problems carry any of the trigonometry, advanced algebra and advanced geometry that MAA excludes from the AMC 10, and in seven of our eight pairs at least four of the AMC 12’s last five problems were new, so a flat clock is a simplification. And one date is one data point. Splice two dates before deciding anything.
| What two spliced dates show | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| AMC 10 at or above 100, AMC 12 estimate well below 85 | The AMC 10 is your paper this season |
| AMC 12 estimate at or above 85 on both dates, with the extra AMC 12 content genuinely studied | The AMC 12 is a realistic choice; let syllabus coverage decide, not the smaller-looking number |
| Both readings short of their lines | The choice matters less than the next month of preparation |
Problem numbers do not travel between the two papers
A problem’s number describes where it sits on one paper, not how hard it is in general. One problem was number 13 on the 2025 AMC 10A and number 5 on the AMC 12A; another was number 15 on the 2024 AMC 10A and number 9 on the AMC 12A. That has two practical consequences.
- Position-banded practice needs the paper attached. If you build practice sets by question number, tag every problem with the paper it came from. “Problems 11 to 15” drawn from AMC 10 papers and from AMC 12 papers are not the same band, and pooling them blurs the diagnosis.
- The two fixed lines are not as far apart as the numbers suggest. Under MAA’s scoring, reaching 85 on the AMC 12 takes at least 11 correct answers with the other 14 left blank (87), while reaching 100 on the AMC 10 takes at least 14 correct with 11 blank (100.5). But the AMC 12’s opening stretch already contains problems from the AMC 10’s middle, so “only 11 correct” on the AMC 12 is not simply an easier target than 14 on the AMC 10.
None of this changes the paper you will sit. The November sitting runs under the in-person arrangements for the 2026 season whichever level you choose. What the overlap changes is how honestly your practice measures you before you get there — and in a season where the AIME line is a fixed number, an honest measurement is most of the plan.
Frequently asked questions
Do the AMC 10 and AMC 12 use the same problems?
Partly. In the eight 2022 to 2025 paper pairs we checked, 10 to 13 of the 25 problems appeared on both papers of the same date.
Is a same-date AMC 12 a clean mock if I have done its AMC 10?
No. Around 10 of its problems will be ones you have already met. Use its unseen problems as a timed set instead of a full mock.
Are shared problems numbered the same on both papers?
Sometimes, near the start. Later shared problems usually sit earlier on the AMC 12, by as many as 8 places in our count.
Can a spliced score decide between the AMC 10 and AMC 12?
A rough reading against the fixed lines of 100 and 85: enough to separate the 60s from the 90s, not scores a question apart.
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