AP Computer Science A is a CodeHS course that introduces students to computer science through programming. Fundamental topics in this course include the design of solutions to problems, the use of data structures to organize large sets of data, the development and implementation of algorithms to process data and discover new information, the analysis of potential solutions, and the ethical and social implications of computing systems. The course emphasizes object-oriented programming and design using the Java programming language.

The CodeHS AP Computer Science A course is a year-long course designed to help students master the basics of Java and equip them to successfully pass the College Board AP Computer Science A Exam at the end of the school year.

Lessons consist of video tutorials, short quizzes, example programs to explore, and written programming exercises, adding up to over 100 hours of hands-on programming practice in total. Several units have free response questions that have students consider the applications of programming and incorporate examples from their own lives.

College Board has launched the AP Classroom, a new resource for teachers with summative and formative assessments. At the end of each unit, we recommend that teachers give students the corresponding Personal Progress Check to understand student strengths and weaknesses.

Coures Outline

Semester A

Unit 1: Primitive Types

This unit introduces students to the Java programming language and the use of classes, providing students with a firm foundation of concepts that will be leveraged and built upon in all future units. Students will focus on writing the main method and will start to call preexisting methods to produce output. Students will start to learn about three built-in data types and learn how to create variables, store values, and interact with those variables using basic operations. The ability to write expressions is essential to representing the variability of the real world in a program and will be used in all future units. Primitive data is one of two categories of variables covered in this course. The other category, reference data, will be covered in Unit 2.

· 1.1 Welcome to AP CS A

· 1.2 Why Programming? Why Java?

· 1.3 Variables and Data Types

· 1.4 Expressions and Assignment Statements

· 1.5 Compound Assignment Operators

· 1.6 User Input

· 1.7 Casting and Ranges of Variables

· 1.8 Primitive Types Quiz

Unit 2: Using Objects

In the first unit, students used primitive types to represent real-world data and determined how to use them in arithmetic expressions to solve problems. This unit introduces a new type of data: reference data. Reference data allows real-world objects to be represented in varying degrees specific to a

programmer’s purpose. This unit builds on students’ ability to write expressions by introducing them to Math class methods to write expressions for generating random numbers and other more complex operations. In addition, strings and the existing methods within the String class are an important topic within this unit. Knowing how to declare variables or call methods on objects is necessary throughout the course but will be very important in Units 5 and 9 when teaching students how to write their own classes and about inheritance relationships.

· 2.1 Objects: Instances of Classes

· 2.2 Creating and Storing Objects (Instantiation)

· 2.3 Overloading

· 2.4 Calling a Void Method

· 2.5 Calling a Void Method with Parameters

· 2.6 Calling a Non-void Method

· 2.7 String Objects

· 2.8 String Methods

· 2.9 Wrapper Classes: Integers and Doubles

· 2.10 Using the Math Class

· 2.11 Using Objects Quiz

Unit 3: Boolean Expressions and if Statements

Algorithms are composed of three building blocks: sequencing, selection, and iteration. This unit focuses on selection, which is represented in a program by using conditional statements. Conditional statements give the program the ability to decide and respond appropriately and are a critical aspect of any nontrivial computer program. In addition to learning the syntax and proper use of conditional statements, students will build on the introduction of Boolean variables by writing Boolean expressions with relational and logical operators. The third building block of all algorithms is iteration, which you will cover in Unit 4. Selection and iteration work together to solve problems.

· 3.1 Boolean Expressions and if Statements

· 3.2 if Statements and Control Flow

· 3.3 if-else Statements

· 3.4 else If Statements

· 3.5 Compound Boolean Expressions

· 3.6 Equivalent Boolean Expressions

· 3.7 Comparing Objects

· 3.8 Boolean Expressions and If Statements Quiz

Unit 4: Iteration

This unit focuses on iteration using while and for loops. As you saw in Unit 3, Boolean expressions are useful when a program needs to perform different operations under different conditions. Boolean expressions are also one of the main components in iteration. This unit introduces several standard algorithms that use iteration. Knowledge of standard algorithms makes solving similar problems easier, as algorithms can be modified or combined to suit new situations. Iteration is used when traversing data structures such as arrays, ArrayLists, and 2D arrays. In addition, it is a necessary component of several standard algorithms, including searching and sorting, which will be covered in later units.

· 4.1 Iteration

· 4.2 For Loops

· 4.3 Developing Algorithms Using Strings

· 4.4 Nested Iteration

· 4.5 Informal Code Analysis

· 4.6 Iteration Quiz

Unit 5: Writing Classes

This unit will pull together information from all previous units to create new, user-defined reference data types in the form of classes. The ability to accurately model real-world entities in a computer program is a large part of what makes computer science so powerful. This unit focuses on identifying appropriate behaviors and attributes of real-world entities and organizing these into classes. Students will build on what they learn in this unit to represent relationships between classes through hierarchies, which appear in the second semester. The creation of computer programs can have extensive impacts on societies, economies, and cultures. The legal and ethical concerns that come with programs and the responsibilities of programmers are also addressed in this unit.

· 5.1 Writing Classes

· 5.2 Constructors

· 5.3 Documentation with Comments

· 5.4 Accessor Methods

· 5.5 Mutator Methods

· 5.6 Writing Methods

· 5.7 Static Variables and Methods

· 5.8 Scope and Access

· 5.9 this Keyword

· 5.10 Ethical and Social Implications of Computing

· 5.11 Writing Classes Quiz