5 Steps to a 5: AP Computer Science A 2024 - Klipp D.B., Johnson D.R., Paymer C.A. 2023

Introduction

Computer science provides limitless possibilities. It gives you power. It drives innovation. Computer science teaches skills that transfer to other disciplines: creativity, adaptability, structured processing, strategic problem solving, reflective analysis, relevant verification, and usability. Most importantly, it will define the future leaders of our world.

—Dr. Thomas Halbert, computer science teacher, Houston, Texas

Organization of the Book

This book was created to help you earn a 5 on the AP Computer Science A Exam. It is important that you understand how this book has been written specifically for you.

This book contains the following:

• An explanation of the highly successful Five-Step Program

• A suggested calendar based on how you want to prepare for the AP Computer Science A Exam

• A series of test-taking strategies

• A diagnostic test

• A thorough explanation of each topic on the AP Computer Science A Exam

• Two practice exams with explanations

Computer science is one of those fields that can be taught in many completely different ways; even the order in which things are taught can be different. Sure, there are some concepts that you have to understand before you can move on to others, but the reality is, there is a lot of flexibility when it comes to how to learn programming.

For instance, throw a dozen computer science teachers in a room and ask them if classes and objects should be taught first, or if the fundamentals of programming should be taught first. Then, grab a bag of popcorn and sit back and enjoy the show. Computer science teachers have been arguing which way is best for years. I have taught high school students both ways, and I believe there are valid arguments on both sides. This is one of those personal decisions that each teacher gets to make.

I have chosen to follow the College Board Course and Exam Description ordering of topics. This way, when I introduce and explain classes and objects, I will reinforce these fundamental programming concepts. If your teacher teaches the concepts in a different order, don’t worry, it will all work out in the end.

The order that you learn the concepts in your computer science class may be different from the order that is presented in this book. And that’s OK.

Advice from My Students

I asked my students for advice on writing this book. One thing they told me is to never explain a new topic using concepts that haven’t been introduced yet. Students hate it when authors say, “Oh, I’m going to use something that I won’t be explaining right now, but we’ll get to it in a later chapter.” I have tried really hard to design this book in a linear fashion, so I hope that I never do this to you.

No Forward Referencing

The concepts in this book move from easiest to hardest, and some of the concepts are even split into two sections (Basic and Advanced) so that the flow of the book is more natural. I will use earlier concepts to explain later concepts, but not the other way around.

One of my goals in writing this book was to strike the right balance between explaining topics in a way that any high school student can understand but still technical enough so students can earn a 5 on the exam. My students recommended that I start off by explaining each concept in a simple way so that anyone can understand it, and then go into greater detail. I hope you will appreciate my attempts at this. In other words, I’ve tried to make the book easy enough for beginning Java programmers to understand the basics so they are not completely lost, but then hard enough so that advanced students have the potential to earn a 5 on the AP Computer Science A exam.

Basic and Advanced Levels

It is for this reason that I have also chosen to create two levels of questions for each of the main concepts: Basic and Advanced. As a teacher, I have learned that students like to know that they know the basics of a concept before moving on to harder questions. If a book only has really hard practice questions, then most of the beginning students find them impossible to do, start feeling like failures, lose interest, and eventually drop out because they can’t relate to anything the book is talking about.

I’ve also learned that it helps to try to find something that the student can relate to and explain the concept using that. I have tried to use examples that high school students can identify with.

The Unit Summary

Each unit begins with a unit summary. The summary tells what’s covered in the unit, and it should give you a reason why you would want to learn the material covered in that unit. It also is a great tool for deciding if you need to look further at that topic.

The Rapid Review

Each unit ends with a “Rapid Review,” which is a complete summary of the important ideas relating to the concept. The lists are full of wonderful one-liners that you should understand before taking the AP Computer Science A Exam. Make sure that you understand every line in the Rapid Review before taking the exam.

Learn the Rapid Review Content

Read every line in every Rapid Review and know what each means!

The Graphics Used in This Book

If you have any questions, suggestions, or would like to report an error, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at 5stepstoa5apcsa@gmail.com.