Customer Reviews

How to Prepare for the AP Computer Science

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I took the APCS AB Exam and got a 5. My teacher did NOT know any of AB material. I learned most of the A material and all of the AB material from this book. If you need to LEARN (and not just review), this is the best you can get. Remember, for many algorithms, you don't need to know the code, but you DO need to understand the concepts behind them. This book does just that. My only complaint is with the Microbiology Case Study (FISH), which you didn't get code for. A definite highlight was the .h files of a linked-list implementation of the apqueue and apstack classes. I also used the Maria Litvin review book.

I recommend using this book to learn the material (if you don't already know it) first, then using the Litvin book to review the material, using this book's practice exams, and then doing the Litvin book's practice exams. The practice tests in this book were about as hard as the AP exam for me.

I give my highest recommendation for this outstanding review book.

Roselyn Teukolsky has put together an excellent source of review materials for the AP Computer Science Exam. Her book is organized into the major topics covered by both the A and AB exams, including the Marine Biology Case Study, contains an excellent summary of the concepts within each topic as well as numerous review questions on each topic.

She seems to have a knack of identifying problem areas within each topic that are often the source of misconceptions. I was especially impressed with the job she did in creating a concise overview of the key concepts contained in the Marine Biology Case Study. It helps students to get the "big picture".

The questions on each review topic, as well as the questions on the two complete Computer Science A practice exams and the two Computer Science AB practice exams are comparable to the questions on the recently released 1999 AP Exam.

My students have commented favorably on the topic reviews, as well as on the explanations provided with the answer key. Not having to go over all the answers in class has also saved me valuable review time.

I would definitely recommend this review book to any teacher looking to provide a thorough review for their students, and also to any student looking for a book to help them review on their own.

This is the ONLY book you'll ever need to prepare for the AP Computer Science A Exam. I don't know about the AB Exam, but for the A Exam, this is ALL you'll need. I took the A Exam this past May and attribute my score of 5 to this book.

The book provides a detailed and descriptive review of all the A Exam topics that you'll need to know. The Book is strong in all topics including the Case Study except for the chapter on Sorting and Searching. That topic will require further study to master, as it is the hardest topic on the exam (at least for most people.) However, all other topics are covered very well and in great detail. You'll know all the details for the A Exam. The practice questions and practice exams are also great. I studied them over and over until I could answer every question correctly. The questions are harder than the actual exam, so when you get to exam day, the test will feel so easy to you.

This book, plenty of hard work in April, and detailed study of the Case Study PDF file and source code will bring you an easy 5 on the A Exam!

This was a great review for the AP test. I took a course at school with a very less than great comp sci teacher. A week before the exam, we hadn't even covered 75% of what was going to be on the exam. So, during the week we had to study, I bought this book and spent about two to three hours a day going through it. Had I not gotten this book I probably would have scored a 1 or 2 on the exam. Instead, I was really suprised when I got the score in the mail and I got a 4. This book covers everything you need in a clear succint manner. I fully reccomend this book to anyone who wants to score a 4 or 5 on the AP.

I, myself, was an AP Computer Science student of Mrs. Teukolsky's when this book was first released, and as a result I have undoubtedly had the pleasure of using it to review for my end-of-the-year exam. Let me begin by saying that Roselyn Teukolsky is a great teacher. All year long we worked real hard to understand the materials necessary to pass the course. In the end it all paid off, and I personally received a 5 on the exam.

The book is organized in such a way as to provide even the most amateur programmer with a healthy overview of all the course materials, both for the A and AB exams. It stays straight to the point, and sometimes diverges into explaining interesting Computer Science facts for the enlightenment of the reader. Also, in the end are 4 well constructed practice exams, 2 for A and 2 for AB. The net result is that you will feel more confident about yourself, and will undoubtedly improve your chances of getting a 5 on the exam.

There is no doubt in my mind that if it hadn't been for Mrs. Teukolsky's excellent teaching skills, and this insightful book, I would not have learned programming as well I did. The truth is, the year I started AP CS was my first year programming, so in some ways I've advanced quite far in a short period of time. So take it from me and buy this book, you won't regret it.

I wanted to try C++ and my school has an AP Computer Science course with C++ and introductory Java. I got this book and it was more helpful than the normal textbook my teacher gave us. I think all AP Computer Science students should take a look at this book.

This book is okay, but as another reviewer said there is a new Java edition, and plus there is no test taking tips. I don't know about you, but all test-prep books need study tips.

At my school we have a year round course of AP computer science, this class has a lot of resources for C++ and the AP exam. None of these, which include, Gary and Maria Litvin's books, to Dr. Owen Astrachan books. This books includes teaching, review, and multiple choice questions. It will be all you need for the exam whether your taking the A or AB.

I bought this book and some others to study for the AP Computer Science Exam, and the others don't even come close. For example, the book covers in-depth different topics that are given on the exam.

However, the book has some shortcomings. The first one being that the book doesn't explain anything in-depth. The chapter on Big-O notation explains what Big-O is, and devotes one or two sentences on how to find the run-time of an algorithm. In some places, the author will just say that a certain algorithm (for example, selecting the first element in an array) has a run-time of O(1). Then, in the chapter about binary search trees, the author will just say that in the worst case, searching for an element is O(n log n), without telling you how she got to that conclusion.

The multiple-choice quiz that follows each chapter tests you on the knowledge of the information presented. Each choice has small syntatic differences, and the questions reflect what will be on the test.

I must also say that no other book covers more closely the Marine-Biology case study.

good review of ap computer science course, but only has 2 practice tests for A and AB test each, so its 4 really, but only two for each course...also one thing it is missing that other books have and something that i can not believe they omitted is how the test is scored. they never mention a grading scale and tell you nothing on how its really graded...so when you take the practice test, you have no idea how well you did, it just has answers and thats it. i say that is very poor for a prep book to not tell you how well you might do on the real test. i would say the book is ok, but its completely unbelievable that they would forget adding this in