AP Computer Science Principles EXAM With
Complete solution (Answered)
Overflow
error that results when the number of bits is not enough to hold the number, like a car's
odometer "rolling over"
Round-off
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
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
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
data about data, like a camera storing the location, aperture, shutter speed, etc. for a
digital photo
Sequencing
code flows line by line, one after another, like a recipe
Selection
a boolean condition to determine which of two algorithmic paths are taken, aka if-then
Iteration
using a looping control structure, like while, for, foreach, repeat, repeat-until, etc.
Reasonable Time
polynomial in the number of steps an algorithm takes in the worst case based on the
input size
Not reasonable time
Usually exponential in the number of steps, like doubling every time your input grows by
one
Heuristic
using a "rule" to guide an algorithm, like always walking toward the north star if you
were stuck in a forest
Undecidable
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
Going one by one vs starting in the middle and going left/right like looking for a word in
the dictionary
Binary Search
requires the list to be sorted in order and then cutting the list in half
APIs
Application Programming Interface
Citizen Science
, 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
Using distributed calculations and/or storage for big data or a web application
Crowdsourcing
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
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
A policy that allows people to have read access to things, e.g., libraries or online data
Moore's Law
The # of transistors on a chip doubles every two years
Peer-to-peer Networks
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
The idea that some communities / populations have less access to computing than
others
ISP
Internet Service Provider
How does internet communication arrive at its destination?
Speech on the Internet goes from the source to an ISP, into the cloud, out of the cloud
to another ISP, and to its destination
How can the government control speech on the Internet?
1) It can try to control the speaker or the speaker's ISP, by criminalizing certain kinds of
speech. But that won't work if the speaker isn't in the same country as the listener.
2)It can try to control the listener, by prohibiting possession of certain kinds of materials.
In the U.S., possession of copyrighted software without an appropriate license is illegal,
as is possession of other copyrighted material with the intent to profit from redistributing
it.
3) The government can try to control the intermediaries.
How can Internet posters evaded being convicted for defamation/slander on the
Web?
The posters could evade responsibility as long as they remained anonymous, as they
easily could on the Internet.
What has Congress given ISPs relating to an Internet Defamation case?
Congress had given the ISPs a complete waiver of responsibility for the consequences
of false and damag- ing statements, even when the ISP knew they were false.
Internet Protocol Hourglass
Each protocol interfaces only to those in the layers immediately above and below it, and
all data is turned into IP bit packets in order to pass from an application to one of the
physical media that make up the network.
Complete solution (Answered)
Overflow
error that results when the number of bits is not enough to hold the number, like a car's
odometer "rolling over"
Round-off
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
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
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
data about data, like a camera storing the location, aperture, shutter speed, etc. for a
digital photo
Sequencing
code flows line by line, one after another, like a recipe
Selection
a boolean condition to determine which of two algorithmic paths are taken, aka if-then
Iteration
using a looping control structure, like while, for, foreach, repeat, repeat-until, etc.
Reasonable Time
polynomial in the number of steps an algorithm takes in the worst case based on the
input size
Not reasonable time
Usually exponential in the number of steps, like doubling every time your input grows by
one
Heuristic
using a "rule" to guide an algorithm, like always walking toward the north star if you
were stuck in a forest
Undecidable
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
Going one by one vs starting in the middle and going left/right like looking for a word in
the dictionary
Binary Search
requires the list to be sorted in order and then cutting the list in half
APIs
Application Programming Interface
Citizen Science
, 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
Using distributed calculations and/or storage for big data or a web application
Crowdsourcing
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
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
A policy that allows people to have read access to things, e.g., libraries or online data
Moore's Law
The # of transistors on a chip doubles every two years
Peer-to-peer Networks
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
The idea that some communities / populations have less access to computing than
others
ISP
Internet Service Provider
How does internet communication arrive at its destination?
Speech on the Internet goes from the source to an ISP, into the cloud, out of the cloud
to another ISP, and to its destination
How can the government control speech on the Internet?
1) It can try to control the speaker or the speaker's ISP, by criminalizing certain kinds of
speech. But that won't work if the speaker isn't in the same country as the listener.
2)It can try to control the listener, by prohibiting possession of certain kinds of materials.
In the U.S., possession of copyrighted software without an appropriate license is illegal,
as is possession of other copyrighted material with the intent to profit from redistributing
it.
3) The government can try to control the intermediaries.
How can Internet posters evaded being convicted for defamation/slander on the
Web?
The posters could evade responsibility as long as they remained anonymous, as they
easily could on the Internet.
What has Congress given ISPs relating to an Internet Defamation case?
Congress had given the ISPs a complete waiver of responsibility for the consequences
of false and damag- ing statements, even when the ISP knew they were false.
Internet Protocol Hourglass
Each protocol interfaces only to those in the layers immediately above and below it, and
all data is turned into IP bit packets in order to pass from an application to one of the
physical media that make up the network.
