APCSP EXAM REVIEW 2025

Recommended to use answer with definition

Syntax Error

A mistake in typed code that violates the rules of the programming language.

Logic Error

A mistake in an algorithm or program that causes it to behave unexpectedly or return the incorrect value

Run-Time Error

A mistake in a program that happens only when the program is actually run

Overflow Error

Error that results when the number of bits is not enough to represent the number

Bit

A binary digit, either 0 or 1

Byte

A sequence of 8 bits

Round off

Error that results when the number of bits is not enough to represent the number with full precision

Analog Data

Values that change smoothly, rather than in discrete intervals, over time.

Digital Data

Values that change in discrete intervals, rather than changing smoothly.

Lossless

Compressing data in a way that preserves all data away and allows full recovery of the original

Lossy

Compressing data in a way that discards some data and makes it impossible to recover the original

metadata

Data about data, like descriptive information about a file or a row in a database

Sequencing

The execution of steps in an algorithm or code in a program (like steps in a recipe)

Selection

A Boolean condition to determine which of two paths are taken in an algorithm or program

Iteration

The repetition of steps in an algorithm or program for a certain amount of times or until a certain condition is met

linear search

algorithm that iterates through each item in a list until it finds the target value.

binary search

algorithm that searches a sorted list for a value by repeatedly splitting the list in half.

reasonable time

run time for an algorithm that doesn't increase faster than a polynomial function of the input size (10n, n², etc)

unreasonable time

run time for an algorithm that increases superpolynomially (2ⁿ, n!, etc)

heuristic

shortcut technique, helps an algorithm, that sacrifices accuracy and completeness, can find approximate solutions more quickly,

undecidable problem

should give a "yes" or "no" answer, but yet no algorithm exists that can answer correctly on all inputs

library

A collection of procedures that are useful in creating programs

API

Application Programming Interface, a library of procedures and a description of how to call each procedure

Modularity

The separation of a program into independent modules that are each responsible for one aspect of the program's functionality

traversal

The iteration over the items in a list

Full traversal

iterates over every item

Partial Traversal

iterates over a subset of the items

Computing Device

A physical device that can run a program

Computer Network

group of interconnected computing devices capable of sending or receiving data

Bandwidth

The maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed period of time over a network connection

Line coding

process of turning binary data into a electrical or optical pulses, which can be sent over a physical medium

Bit rate

the number of bits of data that are sent each second (ex: 10 Mbps)

Latency

measures how late the bits arrive (also called ping rate)

Protocol

An agreed upon set of rules that specify the behavior of a system

Open/nonpropietary protocol

not owned by any particular company and not limited to a particular company's products

Propietary protocol

Owned by a particular company, most cases limited to a particular company’s products

Scalability

The ability of a system to adjust in scale to meet new demands

IP (Internet Protocol)

determines how to address nodes on the network (using IP addresses), how to route data from one node to a destination node using routers.

TCP

Transmission Control Protocol, data transport protocol that includes mechanisms for reliably transmitting packets to a destination

UDP

User Datagram Protocol, lightweight data transport protocol with minimal error checking

World Wide Web

system of linked pages, media, and files, browsable over HTTP

HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol, requests webpage contents from given IP address

URL

Uniform Resource Locator, web address used to access a specific webpage or file on the internet.

Parallel Computing

computational model which splits a program into multiple tasks, some of which can be executed simultaneously

Speedup

the ratio of the time taken to run the program sequentially to the time taken to run the parallelized program

Distributed Computing

computational model which uses multiple devices to run different parts of a program

Digital Divide

idea that some communities or populations have less access to computing than others

Crowdsourcing

model in which many online users combine efforts to help fund projects, generate ideas, or create goods or services

Citizen Science

The participation of volunteers from the public in a scientific research project (crowdsourcing in science)

Creative Commons

set of licenses that allows creators to share their work with others while specifying how it can be used—like for copying, modifying, or distributing—while still keeping some rights

Open access

policy that allows people to have access to documents (like research papers) for reading or data (like government datasets) for analysis

PII

Personally Identifiable Information, Info about an individual that can be used to uniquely identify them

Linkable PII

data that can be combined from separate sources to identify individuals

MFA

Multifactor Authentication, method of authentication, requires user to present multiple pieces of evidence in multiple categories (such as knowledge and possession)

Knowledge (MFA)

Something you know

Possession (MFA)

Something you have

Inherence (MFA)

Something you are

Encryption

process of scrambling data to prevent unauthorized access

Symmetric Encryption

technique for encrypting data where the same key is used to both encrypt and decrypt data

Public Key Encryption

asymmetric encryption technique, uses different keys for encrypting versus decrypting data

Cookie

A small amount of text that tracks information about a user visiting a website

Trojan Horse

Harmful program that pretends to be a legit program, often downloaded by unknowing users. Starts inflicting damage once run

Virus

Self replicating: contains code that copies itself into other files on the system. May hide in the code of a legitimate program

Worm

Self Replicating: copies itself into entirely different computers within the network via networked protocols. Usually don’t have any harmful actions except duplicating itself

Spyware

steals data and sends it back to the malware creators

Adware

pops up advertisements to users

Ransomware

holds a computer hostage by encrypting user data or blocking access to applications, demands payment to malware creators

Cryptomining Malware

utilizes a computer's resources to mine for cryptocurrency

Security Patch

update to the code of an application or the entire operating system, often fixes a bug that's been exploited by malware.

Firewall

system that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic to a computer or internal network, determines what traffic to allow

Antivirus Software

rotects an individual computer by constantly scanning files and identifying malware

Phishing

attack where a user is tricked into revealing private information

Rogue Access Point

wireless access point that provides an attacker with unauthorized access to the traffic going over the network

Routing

Process of finding path from sender to reciever

packet

small amount of data sent over a network

Computer System

group of computing devices and programs working together for a common purpose

Computer Network

a group of interconnected computing devices able to send and recieve data

OSI

Open Systems Interconnect, the layers you have to go through to communicate. 7 groups of protocols.

IETF

Internet Engineering Task Force, manages the development of standards and technical discussions concerning the internet

Local Area Network (LAN)

physical connections, limited by hardware and physics

Intranet

LANs connected by routers, within an organization

Floating-Point Precision

Similiar to Scientific Notation, used to represent non integers in computers

Sampling

taking data at regular time intervals

Sampling rate

frequency measured in Hz, good sampling rate is anything larger than twice the highest frequency of the signal

Quantization

reduces analog data to discrete levels

Binary Encoding

process of representing data using binary digits

Bit Depth

number of bits per sample in binary encoding

Fair Use

allows limited use of copyrighted materials for use in education, critism, comment, news, or research

DRT

Digital rights movement, tool that restricts where and how user can use copyrighted media

DMCA

Digital Millenium Copyright Act, Using DMCA, owner of a product can send takedown notices to unlawful distribution

Open Source

software engineers use it to build off the work of others, using a MIT lisencse.

Public Domain

Creative works not protected by copyright

WAN

Wide Area network, network that extends over a very large distance, comprised of many LANs

Network Topology

Each arrangement in a computer network

Internet Speed

combination of bandwidth and latency

DNS

Domain Name System, converts domain name into IP address

TLS

Transfer layer security, protocol which has the website over a secure and encrypted connection

Domain name

Human-friendly address for a website

Load testing

simulating high amounts of traffic in a short period to see if the system breaks

Digital literacy

basic ability to use input & output devices