AP CSP Vocab Test Flashcards

1
Q

What is Moore’s Law?

A

Generally speaking, every 2.5 years the processing speed of a computer doubles & the processor size is cut in half.

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2
Q

What is a DDoS attack?

A

Distributed Denial of Service attack. This is when someone intentionally floods a server with requests, overloading the server and preventing legitimate requests from getting through.

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3
Q

What is the Internet Engineering Task Force?

A

The organization responsible for creating and maintaining standards and protocols for Internet communication.

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4
Q

What are logic gates?

A

The digital electronics/engineering equivalent of the compound Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT.

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5
Q

What are unsolvable problems?

A

Some problems are impossible to solve using a computer – there’s no algorithm for which the problem can be solved with a clear yes or no answer.

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6
Q

What is unreasonable time in algorithms?

A

Any algorithm that runs in exponential time as the number of elements n increases.

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7
Q

What is reasonable time in algorithms?

A

Any algorithm that runs in polynomial time/log time as the number of elements n increases.

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8
Q

What is a computing innovation?

A

An innovation that includes a program as an integral part of its function.

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9
Q

What is phishing?

A

A technique that attempts to trick a user into providing personal information.

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10
Q

What is malware?

A

Software intended to damage a computing system or to take partial control over its operation.

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11
Q

What is a rogue access point?

A

A wireless access point that gives unauthorized access to secure networks.

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12
Q

What is encryption?

A

A process of encoding messages to keep them secret, so only authorized parties can read it.

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13
Q

What is decryption?

A

A process that reverses encryption, taking a secret message and reproducing the original plain text.

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14
Q

What is a cipher?

A

The generic term for a technique (or algorithm) that performs encryption.

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15
Q

What is Caesar’s Cipher?

A

A technique for encryption that shifts the alphabet by some number of characters.

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16
Q

What is cracking encryption?

A

When you attempt to decode a secret message without knowing all the specifics of the cipher, you are trying to crack the encryption.

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17
Q

What is multi-factor authentication?

A

A method of computer access in which a user has to successfully provide evidence in at least two of the following categories: knowledge, possession, and inherence.

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18
Q

What is computer virus scanning software?

A

Software that protects a computing system against infection.

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19
Q

What is information?

A

The collection of facts and patterns extracted from data.

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20
Q

What is causation?

A

The reason why something happens.

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21
Q

What is metadata?

A

Data about data.

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22
Q

What is data filtering?

A

Choosing a smaller subset of a data set to use for analysis, for example by eliminating or keeping only certain rows in a table.

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23
Q

What is citizen science?

A

Scientific research conducted in whole or part by distributed individuals, many of whom may not be scientists, who contribute relevant data to research using their own computing devices.

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24
Q

What is artificial intelligence?

A

Simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans.

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25
Q

What is a function in programming?

A

A block of code that performs some specific task that may or may not return a value.

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26
Q

What is a parameter?

A

A placeholder within a function for values that are passed into a function as variables.

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27
Q

What is a logic error?

A

A mistake in a program’s source code that results in incorrect or unexpected behavior.

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28
Q

What is a syntax error?

A

An error in the source code of a program that often prevents the program from compiling or running.

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29
Q

What is program documentation?

A

A written description of the function of a code segment, event, procedure, or program and how it was developed.

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30
Q

What are comments in programming?

A

A form of program documentation written into the program to be read by people and do not affect how a program runs.

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31
Q

What is a variable?

A

A value that is stored that can be accessed or changed by the program.

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32
Q

What is an event in programming?

A

An action or occurrence recognized by a program that is often originated from the external environment.

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33
Q

What is an event handler?

A

Program code that is initiated by an event.

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34
Q

What is a string?

A

A data type used to represent text that is often enclosed by quotation marks.

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35
Q

What is an integer?

A

A data type used to represent numeric values holding whole numbers.

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36
Q

What is a float?

A

A data type used to represent numeric values holding fractional numbers.

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37
Q

What is type casting?

A

Changing a variable from one type to another.

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38
Q

What is selection in programming?

A

One of the basic logic structures in programming, refers to a conditional.

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39
Q

What is a conditional statement?

A

A statement that performs a specific action depending on whether the Boolean condition evaluates to true or false.

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40
Q

What is a Boolean?

A

A data type for variables and conditions that evaluates to either true or false.

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41
Q

What is an expression in programming?

A

A portion of a programming statement that can consist of a value, a variable, an operator, or a procedure call that returns a value.

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42
Q

What is a procedure?

A

A named group of programming instructions that may have parameters and return values.

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43
Q

What is cracking encryption?

A

When you attempt to decode a secret message without knowing all the specifics of the cipher, you are trying to crack the encryption.

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44
Q

What is multi-factor authentication?

A

A method of computer access in which a user has to successfully provide evidence in at least two of the following categories: knowledge, possession, and inherence.

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45
Q

What is computer virus scanning software?

A

Software that protects a computing system against infection.

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46
Q

What is information?

A

The collection of facts and patterns extracted from data.

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47
Q

What is causation?

A

The reason why something happens.

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48
Q

What is metadata?

A

Data about data.

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49
Q

What is data filtering?

A

Choosing a smaller subset of a data set to use for analysis, for example by eliminating or keeping only certain rows in a table.

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50
Q

What is citizen science?

A

Scientific research conducted in whole or part by distributed individuals, many of whom may not be scientists, who contribute relevant data to research using their own computing devices.

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51
Q

What is artificial intelligence?

A

Simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans.

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52
Q

What is a function in programming?

A

A block of code that performs some specific task that may or may not return a value.

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53
Q

What is a parameter?

A

A placeholder within a function for values that are passed into a function as variables.

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54
Q

What is a logic error?

A

A mistake in a program’s source code that results in incorrect or unexpected behavior.

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55
Q

What is a syntax error?

A

An error in the source code of a program that often prevents the program from compiling or running.

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56
Q

What is program documentation?

A

A written description of the function of a code segment, event, procedure, or program and how it was developed.

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57
Q

What are comments in programming?

A

A form of program documentation written into the program to be read by people and do not affect how a program runs.

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58
Q

What is a variable?

A

A value that is stored that can be accessed or changed by the program.

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59
Q

What is an event in programming?

A

An action or occurrence recognized by a program that is often originated from the external environment.

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60
Q

What is an event handler?

A

Program code that is initiated by an event.

61
Q

What is a string?

A

A data type used to represent text that is often enclosed by quotation marks.

62
Q

What is an integer?

A

A data type used to represent numeric values holding whole numbers.

63
Q

What is a float?

A

A data type used to represent numeric values holding fractional numbers.

64
Q

What is type casting?

A

Changing a variable from one type to another.

65
Q

What is selection in programming?

A

One of the basic logic structures in programming, refers to a conditional.

66
Q

What is a conditional statement?

A

A statement that performs a specific action depending on whether the Boolean condition evaluates to true or false.

67
Q

What is a Boolean?

A

A data type for variables and conditions that evaluates to either true or false.

68
Q

What is an expression in programming?

A

A portion of a programming statement that can consist of a value, a variable, an operator, or a procedure call that returns a value.

69
Q

What is a procedure?

A

A named group of programming instructions that may have parameters and return values.

70
Q

What is an Argument?

A

Values of the parameters that are passed when a procedure is called.

71
Q

What are Boundary Cases?

A

Inputs used to test a program that demonstrate the different expected outcomes that are at or just beyond the extremes (minimum and maximum) of input data.

72
Q

What is an index?

A

Identifies a value’s unique position on a list.

73
Q

What is an element?

A

One data point that is stored in a list. It is a single part of a larger group.

74
Q

What is a list?

A

Data structure that stores one or more similar types of values in a single value. A collection of individual values that are related.

75
Q

What does Traversing (a list) mean?

A

Performing the same operation on each item of the list, sequentially.

76
Q

What does insert mean in the context of a list?

A

Add an element to a list at a certain index.

77
Q

What does replace mean?

A

Update the contents of an element.

78
Q

What is iteration?

A

Repetition of a process.

79
Q

What is a for each loop?

A

Control structure designed to iterate over each element of a list and repeat the same action.

80
Q

What is a linear search?

A

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

Sequential search is a synonym for linear search.

81
Q

What is a Decidable problem?

A

A decision problem for which an algorithm can be written to produce a correct output for all inputs.

82
Q

What is a Library in programming?

A

A software library contains existing procedures that may be used in creating new programs.

83
Q

What is an API?

A

Application Program Interfaces (API) provide details or specifications on how the procedures behave and can be used.

84
Q

What is an Expression?

A

A combination of operators and values that evaluates to a single value.

85
Q

What is a Variable?

A

An abstraction inside the program that can hold a value. Each variable has associated data storage that represents one value at a time.

86
Q

What is an Assignment operator?

A

Allows a program to change the value represented by a variable.

87
Q

What does Increment mean?

A

Add one to a number.

88
Q

What is Algorithmic Efficiency?

A

A measure of execution time and memory usage while still yielding a correct answer.

89
Q

What is an Array?

A

A type of list or data structure that stores a collection of data.

90
Q

What is a Heuristic?

A

A technique that guides an algorithm to find good choices, but not perfect choices.

91
Q

What is an Undecidable problem?

A

A problem that may have some instances that have an algorithmic solution, but there is no algorithmic solution that could solve all instances of the problem.

92
Q

What is Pseudocode?

A

A high level textual algorithm written in informative text that mimics a programming language.

93
Q

What is Natural Language?

A

Language that is spoken and understood by humans but cannot be processed by the computer.

94
Q

What is Machine Language?

A

A collection of binary digits or bits that the computer reads and interprets. It is the only language a computer is capable of understanding, directly.

95
Q

What is a Procedure?

A

Reusable collection of instructions also referred to as methods, functions, or routines.

96
Q

What is Nested Iteration?

A

A loop inside of another loop.

97
Q

What is a Logic Error?

A

A mistake in the algorithm, not the language syntax, that causes it to behave incorrectly.

98
Q

What is Modular Math?

A

The operation of integer division produces two results: the quotient and the remainder. The modulo operator (mod) is used for this.

Example: In military time, 14:00 evaluates to 2:00 PM on the clock.

99
Q

What are Random Numbers?

A

Programming languages and libraries provide procedures to generate pseudo-random numbers. RANDOM(1,10) will produce any integer between 1 and 10 (inclusive).

Possible answers include 1 and 10.

100
Q

What is Order of Operations?

A

Operator precedence in an expression, following the same rules as mathematics: Parentheses, exponents, multiplication and division, addition and subtraction (from left to right).

101
Q

What is a Clone in programming?

A

A feature that allows a sprite to create a copy of itself while the project is running. Each clone has the same costumes, sounds, and scripts as the original.

102
Q

What is a Flowchart?

A

A simple diagram with symbols showing the ‘flow’ of a process, used as a design tool.

103
Q

What is Abstraction?

A

A programmer hides all but the relevant data about an object to reduce complexity and increase efficiency.

104
Q

What is Debugging?

A

The routine process of locating and removing computer program bugs, errors, or abnormalities.

105
Q

What are Parameters?

A

A formal argument, a special kind of variable used in a subroutine to refer to one of the pieces of data provided as input.

106
Q

What is Unicode?

A

An international encoding standard for different languages and scripts, assigning a unique numeric value to each letter, digit, or symbol.

107
Q

What are Boolean Operators?

A

Operators that can be used to combine logical expressions: AND, OR, and NOT (used to indicate the opposite of a logical expression).

108
Q

What is a Relational Operator?

A

Operators like <, >, =, >=, <=, and != used to compare the relation between two operands.

Example: In ‘4 < 5’, the relational operator is < and the value of the expression is true.

109
Q

What is a Conditional Statement?

A

A statement or expression evaluated to determine an outcome, such as repeat until, if, while, or forever if.

110
Q

What is Selection in algorithms?

A

An algorithm can select between two alternative paths based on some condition.

111
Q

What is Procedural Abstraction?

A

A reusable collection of statements that decreases the lines of code in a program, increases readability, and decreases the chance of errors.

112
Q

What are Simulations & Models?

A

Simplified representations of more complex objects or phenomena developed to explain, study, or test hypotheses about the subject.

113
Q

What is a Code Segment?

A

A collection of program statements that are part of a program.

114
Q

What is TCP/IP?

A

Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, a suite of communication protocols used to interconnect network devices on the internet.

115
Q

What is an Internet Protocol Address?

A

A numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.

116
Q

What is HTTP?

A

Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web for communication.

117
Q

What is a Computing Device?

A

A machine that can run a program, including computers, tablets, servers, routers, and smart sensors.

118
Q

What is a Computing System?

A

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

119
Q

What is a Computing Network?

A

A group of interconnected computing devices capable of sending or receiving data.

120
Q

What is a Path in networking?

A

The series of connections between computing devices on a network starting with a sender and ending with a receiver.

121
Q

What is Bandwidth?

A

The maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed amount of time, usually measured in bits per second.

122
Q

What is a Packet?

A

A small chunk of any kind of data: text, numbers, lists, etc.

123
Q

What does Redundant mean in networking?

A

There are multiple pathways among the physical connections of the Internet to create redundancy, ensuring message transmission even if one pathway is unavailable.

124
Q

What does Hierarchical mean in Internet addressing?

A

There are two hierarchical Internet addressing systems: domain names and IP addresses, which work similarly to postal addressing.

125
Q

What is a system that locates people?

A

A system that locates people first by state, then city, then street, then house number, then apartment, and finally person.

126
Q

What is a protocol?

A

An agreed-upon set of rules that specify the behavior of some system.

127
Q

What is an IP Address?

A

The unique number assigned to each device on the Internet.

128
Q

What is Internet Protocol (IP)?

A

A protocol for sending data across the Internet that assigns unique numbers (IP addresses) to each connected device.

129
Q

What is fault-tolerance?

A

The property that enables a system to continue operating properly in the event of failure of one or more components.

130
Q

What is a router?

A

A device that forwards data packets along networks, connected to at least two networks.

131
Q

What is a logic error?

A

A mistake in the algorithm or program that causes it to behave incorrectly or unexpectedly.

132
Q

What is tracing?

A

Simulating the execution of program code in order to manually verify that it works correctly.

133
Q

What is debugging?

A

The process of identifying and removing errors from computer hardware or software.

134
Q

What is an overflow error?

A

An error that occurs when calculated data cannot fit within the storage capacity of a device.

135
Q

What is Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)?

A

A standard that defines how to establish and maintain a network conversation through which application programs can exchange data.

136
Q

What is User Datagram Protocol (UDP)?

A

A protocol used to send short messages called datagrams; it is unreliable and connectionless.

137
Q

What is scalability?

A

The capability of a system to change in size and scale to meet new demands.

138
Q

What is a bit?

A

The smallest unit of data in a computer, with a single binary value of either 0 or 1.

139
Q

What is a byte?

A

A unit of data that is eight binary digits long, often used to represent a character.

140
Q

What is binary?

A

A numbering scheme in which there are only two possible values for each digit: 0 and 1.

141
Q

What is an algorithm?

A

A complete, well-defined sequence of steps for completing a task or solving a problem.

142
Q

What is a program?

A

A sequence of instructions written in a language that can be understood by a computer.

143
Q

What is a pixel?

A

A minute area of illumination on a display screen, one of many that compose an image.

144
Q

What is heuristic problem solving?

A

An approach to problem solving that finds satisfactory solutions where traditional methods may not.

145
Q

What is lossy compression?

A

A data encoding and compression technique that deliberately discards some data.

146
Q

What is a Creative Commons license?

A

A license that enables the free distribution of an author’s work, allowing others to share, use, and build upon it.

147
Q

What is open source?

A

Programs that are made freely available and may be redistributed and modified.

148
Q

What is open access?

A

Online research output free of restrictions on access and use.