| Strategy | Description | Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Time Management | ~1.6 minutes per problem | Skip hard questions, return later; don't spend more than 3 min on any problem |
| Process of Elimination | Remove obviously wrong answers | Eliminate 2+ choices → guess; no penalty for wrong answers |
| Work Backwards | Plug answer choices into problem | Start with middle value (C); often faster than solving forward |
| Smart Guessing | Look for patterns in answer choices | A, B, C more frequent than D, E; if stuck, choose C or B |
| Draw Diagrams | Visualize geometry problems | Label known values; look for symmetry and similar triangles |
| Simplify Problems | Replace large numbers with small ones | Use unit ratios; look for hidden "nice" numbers |
Math Formulas | Probability Formulas
| Mistake | Description | How to Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Carefully | Watch for "NOT", "except", "least", "greatest" | Highlight key words in problem |
| Unit Conversion | Check if answer needs different units | Circle the units in answer choices |
| Double-Counting | Be careful with "and" vs "or" | Use Venn diagrams for counting problems |
| Tip | Resource | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Practice Tests | maa.org/mathcompetitions | Free past AMC 8 exams |
| Multiplication Tables | Memorize 1-12 | Essential for speed |
| Squares | 1² through 20² | 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100, 121, 144, 169, 196, 225, 256, 289, 324, 361, 400 |
| Resource | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Art of Problem Solving | Introductory Combinatorics Problems | artofproblemsolving.com |
| Art of Problem Solving | Introductory Number Theory Problems | artofproblemsolving.com |
| Art of Problem Solving | Introductory Geometry Problems | artofproblemsolving.com |
| Art of Problem Solving | Introductory Algebra Problems | artofproblemsolving.com |
| Art of Problem Solving | Free past exams | artofproblemsolving.com |