*** OFFICIAL 2013 AP Computer Science A Thread***

Test Preparation AP Mathematics & Computer Science
101

<p>Is the FRQ grading hard/strict? If the answer to a question is:</p>

<p>if( gr.isValid() || obj.someOtherBooleanReturned() ) {
bug.move();
}</p>

<p>But the student does:</p>

<p>boolean b1, b2;
b1 = gr.isValid();
b2 = obj.someOtherBooleanReturned();</p>

<p>if( b1 || b2 ) {
bug.move();
}</p>

<p>Would we get penalized in any way? I read the rubric on the CollegeBoard website, but it appears you only need to hit the key parts of the question, without detracting any extraneous data.</p>

<p>EDIT: Is it safe to call the getValidAdjacentLocations( Location loc ) method from the Grid interface instead of calling getAdjacentLocations( Location loc ) followed by isValid( Location loc ) ?</p>

102

<p>Sorry I didn’t notice this thread, but I have a question about the “this” prefix here. If you could answer it i would really appreciate it!
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/mathematics-computer-science/1499692-attn-ap-computer-science-lovers-easy-question-about-command.html#post15889268[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/mathematics-computer-science/1499692-attn-ap-computer-science-lovers-easy-question-about-command.html#post15889268&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

103

<p>Quarking, I’m pretty sure you would not be penalized. I’m not sure about the locations question but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work instead.</p>

104

<p>So do any of you guys know exactly what should we memorize for Gridworld? I heard you get a quick reference guide for it, is that true?</p>

105

<p>@Quarking: in general, if it works, it’s eligible for full credit. It doesn’t have to be as precise or pretty-looking as the “official” solutions.</p>

<p>@avg1000: if you go to the official site on collegeboard.com for the APCS exam, you can download an exact copy of the quick reference guide you’ll have during the exam.</p>

106

<p>I only just realized the Quick Reference included the subset tested on for the exam (at least, as the bounds for the FRQ answers).</p>

<p>It’s nice to know the answers can be formulated within the confines of the subset.</p>

107

<p>Can confirm that using a linear search is faster for a unsorted list than using a sorting algorithm and then using binary? It was a practice problem in Barron’s.</p>

108

<p>Yeah in most cases I think a linear search would be quicker. Otherwise you would have to do two separate operations (which both contain several steps), and obviously looping through once is going to be quicker than sorting something and then looking through that.</p>

109

<p>Ok, can some one tell me the degree to which algorithms will be tested on the exam? Do they ask questions like “which algorithm will produce a quicker result?” thx!</p>

110

<p>@smeagleagle The Big O Notation is not tested in the Comp Sci A test, as told by @chilldude.</p>

111

<p>@lightens: a linear search on an unsorted list take O(n) time in the worst case. Binary search would be faster at O(log n) time, but the best searches take time at least O(n log n), so the combined time for sorting then searching would be O(n log n) + O(log n) = O(n log n) which is slower than O(n).</p>

112

<p>I don’t think we need to know O for this test.</p>

113

<p>so how do Barron’s scores compare with the real test? I’m getting better but my Barron’s score isn’t so promising :(</p>

114

<p>yahhh i suck at the multiple choice</p>

115

<p>@cuzimjj Having done all the 3 exams from the Barron’s 6th edition, I can at least say the FRQ’s in the book seem to be a little (just a small notch harder) than the ones from the previously administered exams.</p>

116

<p>How do the M.C. tests from Barron’s 2008-2009 compare to the actual M.C. tests from previous years? They seem pretty challenging.</p>

117

<p>I scored 30/40 on barron’s 1st practice test and got 36/40 on an actual mock AP test not long after although there was some learning in between I’d still say it’s about the same.</p>

118

<p>^I had a similar experience. I’d say Barron’s is a bit harder. It usually is. I got 30 on the diagnostic test and 31 on an actual mock test (although the test I got a 31 on was done in a group in my CS class, which certainly brought me down from an actual test where I could focus more).</p>

119

<p>Can someone tell me if the ap cs exam will test stuff like: sorting and searching (ex. selection sort, insertion sort, binary)</p>

120

<p>It will definitely test sorting and searching.</p>