AP COMPUTER SCIENCE
PRINCIPLES EXAM 160 QUESTIONS
AND VERIFIED ANSWERS 2026
LATEST UPDATE
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
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
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
PRINCIPLES EXAM 160 QUESTIONS
AND VERIFIED ANSWERS 2026
LATEST UPDATE
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
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
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
