©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
AP Computer Science Principles EXAM
Study Guide Solutions
Overflow - ANSWER✔✔-error that results when the number of bits is not enough to hold the number,
like a car's odometer "rolling over"
Round-off - ANSWER✔✔-error that results when the number of bits is not enough to represent the
actual number, like 3 digits to represent π as 3.14
Lossy - ANSWER✔✔-Compressing data in a way that throws some data away and makes it almost
impossible to recover the original, great compression, like JPEG images
Lossless - ANSWER✔✔-Compressing data in a way that preserves all data away and allows full recovery
of the original, good compression -- usually not as good as lossy, like PNG images
Metadata - ANSWER✔✔-data about data, like a camera storing the location, aperture, shutter speed,
etc. for a digital photo
Sequencing - ANSWER✔✔-code flows line by line, one after another, like a recipe
Selection - ANSWER✔✔-a boolean condition to determine which of two algorithmic paths are taken, aka
if-then
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, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
Iteration - ANSWER✔✔-using a looping control structure, like while, for, foreach, repeat, repeat-until,
etc.
Reasonable Time - ANSWER✔✔-polynomial in the number of steps an algorithm takes in the worst case
based on the input size
Not reasonable time - ANSWER✔✔-Usually exponential in the number of steps, like doubling every time
your input grows by one
Heuristic - ANSWER✔✔-using a "rule" to guide an algorithm, like always walking toward the north star if
you were stuck in a forest
Undecidable - ANSWER✔✔-A problem that is so difficult, we can't ever create an algorithm that would
be able to answer yes or no for all inputs, like determining if a user's program run on some input would
always stop and not run forever
Linear Search - ANSWER✔✔-Going one by one vs starting in the middle and going left/right like looking
for a word in the dictionary
Binary Search - ANSWER✔✔-requires the list to be sorted in order and then cutting the list in half
APIs - ANSWER✔✔-Application Programming Interface
Citizen Science - ANSWER✔✔-Lots of people to help with a scientific project, like asking everyone around
the world to count the butterflies they see one day
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, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
Cloud Computing - ANSWER✔✔-Using distributed calculations and/or storage for big data or a web
application
Crowdsourcing - ANSWER✔✔-Asking lots of users online to help with something, like funding a project,
or running SETI@Home to help look for extraterrestrial signals
Creative Commons - ANSWER✔✔-An alternative to copyright that allows people to declare how they
want their artistic creations to be shared, remixed, used in noncommercial contexts, and how the policy
should propagate with remixed versions
Open Access - ANSWER✔✔-A policy that allows people to have read access to things, e.g., libraries or
online data
Moore's Law - ANSWER✔✔-The # of transistors on a chip doubles every two years
Peer-to-peer Networks - ANSWER✔✔-A system where one user's computer connects through the
Internet to another user's computer without going through an intermediary "centralized" computer to
manage the connection
Digital Divide - ANSWER✔✔-The idea that some communities / populations have less access to
computing than others
ISP - ANSWER✔✔-Internet Service Provider
Page 3/24
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
AP Computer Science Principles EXAM
Study Guide Solutions
Overflow - ANSWER✔✔-error that results when the number of bits is not enough to hold the number,
like a car's odometer "rolling over"
Round-off - ANSWER✔✔-error that results when the number of bits is not enough to represent the
actual number, like 3 digits to represent π as 3.14
Lossy - ANSWER✔✔-Compressing data in a way that throws some data away and makes it almost
impossible to recover the original, great compression, like JPEG images
Lossless - ANSWER✔✔-Compressing data in a way that preserves all data away and allows full recovery
of the original, good compression -- usually not as good as lossy, like PNG images
Metadata - ANSWER✔✔-data about data, like a camera storing the location, aperture, shutter speed,
etc. for a digital photo
Sequencing - ANSWER✔✔-code flows line by line, one after another, like a recipe
Selection - ANSWER✔✔-a boolean condition to determine which of two algorithmic paths are taken, aka
if-then
Page 1/24
, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
Iteration - ANSWER✔✔-using a looping control structure, like while, for, foreach, repeat, repeat-until,
etc.
Reasonable Time - ANSWER✔✔-polynomial in the number of steps an algorithm takes in the worst case
based on the input size
Not reasonable time - ANSWER✔✔-Usually exponential in the number of steps, like doubling every time
your input grows by one
Heuristic - ANSWER✔✔-using a "rule" to guide an algorithm, like always walking toward the north star if
you were stuck in a forest
Undecidable - ANSWER✔✔-A problem that is so difficult, we can't ever create an algorithm that would
be able to answer yes or no for all inputs, like determining if a user's program run on some input would
always stop and not run forever
Linear Search - ANSWER✔✔-Going one by one vs starting in the middle and going left/right like looking
for a word in the dictionary
Binary Search - ANSWER✔✔-requires the list to be sorted in order and then cutting the list in half
APIs - ANSWER✔✔-Application Programming Interface
Citizen Science - ANSWER✔✔-Lots of people to help with a scientific project, like asking everyone around
the world to count the butterflies they see one day
Page 2/24
, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
Cloud Computing - ANSWER✔✔-Using distributed calculations and/or storage for big data or a web
application
Crowdsourcing - ANSWER✔✔-Asking lots of users online to help with something, like funding a project,
or running SETI@Home to help look for extraterrestrial signals
Creative Commons - ANSWER✔✔-An alternative to copyright that allows people to declare how they
want their artistic creations to be shared, remixed, used in noncommercial contexts, and how the policy
should propagate with remixed versions
Open Access - ANSWER✔✔-A policy that allows people to have read access to things, e.g., libraries or
online data
Moore's Law - ANSWER✔✔-The # of transistors on a chip doubles every two years
Peer-to-peer Networks - ANSWER✔✔-A system where one user's computer connects through the
Internet to another user's computer without going through an intermediary "centralized" computer to
manage the connection
Digital Divide - ANSWER✔✔-The idea that some communities / populations have less access to
computing than others
ISP - ANSWER✔✔-Internet Service Provider
Page 3/24
