AMC Recalls
How to Answer AMC Recall Questions: Free Examples with Answers
By the AMC Recalls team. Updated .
To answer an AMC recall question, mark four things on the stem before reading the options: the lead-in, the patient and place, the deciding finding and the urgency cue. Those four marks decide which option is correct. The free recall questions on AMC Recalls follow the single-best-answer format of the AMC MCQ, so the same marks work in the exam itself. Below, they are made on three questions from the July, August and May 2026 sets.
The four marks
| Mark | What to underline | What it settles |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lead-in | "most likely cause", "best immediate treatment", | The type of answer: a diagnosis, a cause, |
| "most appropriate next step" | an action or a test | |
| 2. Patient and | Age, pregnancy, general practice, emergency | Which diagnoses fit and which actions |
| place | department, rural hospital | are available |
| 3. Deciding | The finding, or the missing finding, that knocks out | The gap between the right answer and |
| finding | the second-best option | the near miss |
| 4. Urgency | Vital signs, conscious state, time since onset | Whether to resuscitate, treat or |
| cue | investigate first |
With the four marks made, the answer is the option a new intern in an Australian hospital is expected to choose first: safe, first-line and guideline-based for that setting. The AMC exam allows about 84 seconds per question across 150 questions, and its computer-adaptive (CAT) format never lets a candidate go back, so the marks have to be a reflex by exam day. How to pass AMC Part 1 on your first try places recall practice in a full study plan, and AMC recalls explained covers what a recall question is.
Recall 1: green vomit in a 7-day-old (July 2026 set)
Annotated stem
A 7-day-old boy born at term has vomited green fluid since this morning. He is lethargic but still feeding, capillary refill time is under 2 seconds, and his abdomen is distended and tender. He has not passed stool since yesterday. What is the most appropriate next step?
A. Reassure the parents and review in 24 hours
B. Nil by mouth, intravenous fluids and a nasogastric tube
C. Oral rehydration at home
D. Barium meal on the ward
E. Start oral antibiotics
Margin notes
Mark 1, lead-in. "Most appropriate next step" asks for an action. Naming the diagnosis does not answer it.
Mark 2, patient. A "7-day-old" with abdominal signs is a neonatal surgical problem until proven otherwise.
Mark 3, deciding finding. "Green fluid" is bile. Bile-stained vomiting in a newborn means malrotation with midgut volvulus until proven otherwise.
Mark 4, urgency. "Lethargic", an "abdomen is distended and tender" and "has not passed stool since yesterday" signal obstruction with possible ischaemia. Feeds stop now.
Verdict: B. Nil by mouth, intravenous fluids, nasogastric decompression and urgent paediatric surgical referral come first. The contrast study (D) follows once the infant is stable. Reassurance (A) and home rehydration (C) miss a surgical emergency, and antibiotics (E) do not relieve an obstruction.
Revision card: neonate with bilious vomiting = malrotation with volvulus until proven otherwise. Resuscitate, decompress, call surgery. Source: RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines.
Recalls 2 and 3: same toddler, different lead-in (August and May 2026 sets)
Two recalls from consecutive sittings describe almost the same child. Mark 1 differs between them, and so does the verdict.
Recall 2 (August 2026 set)
Annotated stem
A 3-year-old has had several days of fever, sore throat and poor oral intake and then has a generalised tonic-clonic seizure. Blood glucose is 1.9 mmol/L, ketones are strongly positive and the liver is not enlarged. What is the most likely cause of the hypoglycaemia?
A. Congenital hyperinsulinism
B. Glycogen storage disease type I
C. Fatty acid oxidation disorder
D. Adrenal insufficiency crisis
E. Ketotic hypoglycaemia
Margin notes
Mark 1, lead-in. "Most likely cause" asks for an aetiology, so a treatment is not the answer.
Mark 2, patient. A "3-year-old" with "poor oral intake" is a previously well toddler after reduced intake: the classic setting for fasting hypoglycaemia.
Mark 3, deciding finding. "Ketones are strongly positive" rules out the hypoketotic causes, hyperinsulinism (A) and fatty acid oxidation disorders (C). The pertinent negative "liver is not enlarged" rules out glycogen storage disease (B).
Mark 4, urgency. "1.9 mmol/L" is low enough to explain the seizure.
Verdict: E. Ketotic hypoglycaemia, also called accelerated starvation. Adrenal insufficiency (D) also produces ketotic hypoglycaemia, but nothing in the stem points to it. Ketotic hypoglycaemia is a diagnosis of exclusion, so the hypoglycaemia screen is drawn at the time of the low glucose.
Recall 3 (May 2026 set)
Annotated stem
A 3-year-old boy has had a brief, self-limiting seizure after a day of viral illness with vomiting and poor intake. He is now postictal, drowsy but rousable, with stable observations. Bedside glucose is 2.2 mmol/L. What is the best immediate treatment?
A. Rectal diazepam gel
B. Intravenous phenytoin loading dose
C. Intravenous glucose bolus
D. Oral glucose gel
E. Intravenous lorazepam
Margin notes
Mark 1, lead-in. "Best immediate treatment" asks for an action now, not a cause.
Mark 2, patient. Nothing new to mark: the same age and the same illness as Recall 2.
Mark 3, deciding finding. The "brief, self-limiting seizure" has stopped, which rules out the three anticonvulsants (A, B, E). "2.2 mmol/L" is the abnormality to correct.
Mark 4, urgency. "Drowsy but rousable" rules out oral glucose (D), because the airway is not protected. "Stable observations" mean the specific treatment comes first.
Verdict: C. The RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines give 10% glucose, 2 mL/kg, as an intravenous bolus in severe hypoglycaemia, with intraosseous glucose or intramuscular glucagon when intravenous access is delayed, followed by a repeat glucose check and fluids containing glucose.
Revision card: same toddler, two lead-ins. "Most likely cause": ketotic hypoglycaemia. "Best immediate treatment": intravenous 10% glucose, 2 mL/kg. Source: RCH Clinical Practice Guidelines, hypoglycaemia.
Five annotation mistakes that cost marks
Underlining everything. A stem with fifteen underlines has no deciding finding. Four marks, five to eight underlined phrases.
Skipping the negatives. "Liver not enlarged" and "no blood" are written in to remove an option.
Reading the options first. Options pull the reading towards a guess. Mark the stem, then read A to E.
Ignoring the place. "Rural hospital" or "general practice" changes what is available, and therefore the answer.
Marking the disease, not the decision. When the question line wants a next step, the diagnosis is a stepping stone, not the answer.
Practise the four marks on free AMC recall questions
AMC Recalls adds 100 free AMC recall questions after every sitting. They are built from the topics candidates report across the AMC blueprint and written in the single-best-answer format of the AMC exam, and every one comes with the answer, a full explanation and a recall tip. The free recall sets for February to September 2026 are open; the July, August and May sets hold the three recalls above. Work the two most recent sets first and mark every stem. To confirm any answer against its Australian source, use the AMC recall answer checker. For timed, full-length practice, pair the free recalls with AMC Academic's mock exams.
Frequently asked questions
How do you answer AMC recall questions?
Mark the lead-in, the patient and place, the deciding finding and the urgency cue, then choose the first step a new intern in Australia takes in that setting.
What should I underline in an AMC recall question?
The lead-in, the age and setting, the finding, or missing finding, that knocks out the second-best option, and the vital signs or conscious state. Five to eight phrases is enough.
Where can I get free AMC recall questions with answers?
AMC Recalls publishes 100 free AMC recall questions after every sitting, each answered and explained. The 2026 sets from February to September are open now.
Are AMC recall questions like the real AMC exam questions?
Yes. Each one is built like a question on the AMC MCQ: a short case, one question line and five answer choices, drawn from what candidates report after each sitting.
Are the free AMC recall questions aligned with the AMC blueprint?
Yes. Each set is drawn from the topics reported after the latest sitting, and those topics span the six blueprint areas the AMC examines.
Why do two similar recalls have different answers?
Because the lead-in differs. The same hypoglycaemic toddler appears once with "most likely cause" (ketotic hypoglycaemia) and once with "best immediate treatment" (intravenous glucose).
Are free recalls enough to pass the AMC MCQ?
Free recalls show what the AMC exam is asking now. A full question bank covers the rest of the blueprint, and timed mocks build exam pace. Use all three.
