Here are some of my last minute tips for the AP CS A Exam.
Multiple Choice – 90 minutes
There are 40 MC questions worth 1 point each
Cycle through the test more than once
Answer the easy questions first
Skip long trace through questions to start – answer these last
Bubble your answers as you go
Know your sorts and searches really well – https://visualgo.net/en
Practice tracing recursion if that is tough for you
90 minutes will go fast so manage your time
Free Response – 90 minutes
There are 4 FR Questions worth 9 points each
Know the pre-defined topics for each FRQ
Question 1 – Methods and Control Structures
Question 2 – Classes
Question 3 – Array \ ArrayList
Question 4 – 2-D arrays / matrices
NOTE – Strings always make an appearance somewhere
Read all 4 FR questions before writing any code
Write the code for the easiest question first
Get points on the board early
If you are writing a return method, make sure to return
Check carefully to see if part B must call A and such – not optional
Check for static methods vs methods in a class with instance variables
If extending a class, make sure you have super calls and method overrides where needed
Final Bits
Know how to chop up a number digit by digit using % 10 and / 10
Know how to chop up a string using substring and indexOf
Know how to remove multiple instances of the same item from an ArrayList
Lastly, have fun!
Computer Science is fun!