Cram for AP Computer Science Principles — Last-Minute Guide

AP Computer Science Principles is unique: 30% of your score comes from the Create Performance Task (PT), which you submit before exam day. The MCQ section covers a specific set of concepts that repeat across years — knowing them cold is the fastest path to points.

Create PT — 6 Rubric Rows (30% of Score)

Your written response must explicitly address all 6 rows. Graders do not infer — if your response doesn't directly state it, you don't earn the point:

1. Program Purpose and Function: describe what the program does overall (purpose) AND what it does when run (functionality). These are different — purpose is the why, functionality is the what.
2. Data Abstraction: show a list (array) storing multiple values and explain how the list manages complexity that could not be done as easily without it.
3. Managing Complexity: explicitly state that your list "manages complexity" — use that phrase or equivalent. Describe how the program would be harder to write without the list.
4. Procedural Abstraction: show a procedure (function) you wrote that takes parameters and is called in the program.
5. Algorithm Implementation: your procedure must include sequencing, selection (if/else), AND iteration (loop). All three must appear together in one procedure.
6. Testing: describe two test cases with different inputs, the expected output of each, and what the results tell you about your program's behavior.

MCQ Topics — What Appears Every Year

• Binary and hexadecimal: convert between binary, decimal, and hex. Know that 4 binary digits = 1 hex digit. Adding binary numbers, overflow when result exceeds bit limit.
• Lossless vs. lossy compression: lossless (ZIP, PNG) reconstructs original exactly; lossy (JPEG, MP3) permanently removes data. Lossy achieves higher compression ratios.
• Encryption: symmetric encryption uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt; asymmetric (public-key) uses a public key to encrypt and a private key to decrypt. HTTPS uses asymmetric to exchange a symmetric key.
• Internet fault tolerance: packet switching routes packets independently, allowing rerouting if a node fails. The Internet was designed so no single point of failure can take it down.
• Algorithm efficiency: O(n) algorithms scale linearly — doubling input doubles time. O(log n) algorithms (binary search) are far more efficient for large inputs. O(n²) algorithms become impractical quickly.
• Creative Commons licenses: CC BY (attribution required), CC BY-SA (share alike), CC BY-NC (noncommercial only), CC0 (public domain). Know which allows commercial use and which requires sharing under same terms.

Key Vocabulary the Exam Tests Directly

• Abstraction: reducing complexity by hiding implementation details and exposing only what is necessary.
• Algorithm: a finite set of steps that solves a problem or accomplishes a task.
• Sequencing, Selection, Iteration: the three control structures that must ALL appear together inside one procedure in your Create PT to earn the algorithm row.
• Undecidable problem: a problem for which no algorithm can always produce a correct yes/no answer (e.g., the Halting Problem).
• Metadata: data about data (file size, creation date, GPS coordinates in a photo) — often more revealing than the content itself.

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