AP Computer Science Test

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Original post by logain
Just wondering out of curiosity how many other people might be taking the advanced placement computer science test (A or AB) and how confident you feel about it.

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I took it about 6 years ago. I took the AB test. If you are good at programming, and did what you were supposed to, everything should go fine.


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[edited by - YodaTheCoda on December 10, 2003 1:57:54 PM]

I took it 2 years ago, and agree with him.

Im taking the AB test tomorrow. I consider myself a good programmer but on all the preliminary tests i got scores that were aweful (which means with the curve they will probably be 2-3s). Anyway, I''m off to study.

Yeah, I am good at C++. Its just that they switched to Java. Anyways, I will be happy with a 3, especially since I am self-taught.

And MrPoopypants, I took some of the practice stuff and I got worried. I normally consider myself a good programmer (given that I know more then the other kids in my IT class) and I know of three other peopple that are in the same boat as us, albeit two of them are only taking the A test.

I took the AB test last year, the last time it was offered in C++ ;P It was really easy and if you know what trees, linked lists, vectors, etc are, how to manipulate them, and how long it takes to manipulate you should be fine.

Ex:

time to insert into:
linked list = O(n)
tree = O(log(n))
vector = O(1)

thats about all the care about. On the AB test anyway. If you do any kind of C++/Java programming (esp that which requires various data structures), you should be fine.

Good luck!

Dwiel


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general advice with any ap test:

Don''t spend the night before watching the matrix reloaded. In fact, if you are awake now, go to sleep. Who knows what grades I could have gotten on the economics test if I could think straight (probably the same, but who knows).

As for the AB test, it''s too late to be any good but just remember how to use pointers properly, and have some working concept of basic data structures with them (linked lists, trees, etc...). You dont have to know all the sorting algo''s, but making one sure helps. Mergesort is my personal favorite. Oh and those silly times, n, n^2, logn, etc... can''t remember what they''re called.

It''s a piece of cake if you''ve been doing work all year. If not, well, you''re just down 70 dollars.

I remember some of that test (I took it 2 or 3 years ago). I recall it was pretty easy.

Picking up the information on the test from the College Board''s site:

• Students should be able to design and implement computer-based solutions to problems in a variety of application areas. • Students should be able to use and implement well-known algorithms and data structures.


• Students should be able to develop and select appropriate algorithms and data structures to solve problems.


• Students should be able to code fluently in an object-oriented paradigm using the programming language Java. Students are expected to be familiar with and be able to use standard Java library classes from the AP Java subset.


• Students should be able to read and understand a large program consisting of several classes and interacting objects. Students should be able to read and understand a description of the design and development process leading to such a program. (An example of such a program is the AP Marine Biology Simulation Case Study.)


• Students should be able to identify the major hardware and software components of a computer system, their relationship to one another, and the roles of these components within the system.


• Students should be able to recognize the ethical and social implications of computer use.

I would say just study OO design within the Java language, algorithms, and how efficent they are, data structures, and then some of the basics of computer architecture, if you have done this, then you are fine for the test, and should do fairly well.

I took the c++ AB test last year although we learned Java in school, and still pulled off a 5, so if you''re confident on your basic sorting algorithms and data structures you should be fine.

I guess I did okay. Could have done better given that I was not very familiar with using maps.

Considering that I hadn''t been studying all year and that I am self taught, I think I did quite well.

If nothing else, I amused myself with the test.

According to my friends, the test was easy.

Of coruse one has been coding in Java for rather a long time, and the otheres are not long-time coders but they are good coders and smart people.

Not as good or smart as me, of course Heard there was some fun with maps, linked lists, and hashes.