Jesus Barrios
Author

About These Notes

These are the notes I used to score high on the AP Computer Science Principles exam. I’ve cleaned them up and made them easier to read with the help of Scholarly Mind. 

About Scholarly Wings

At Scholarly Wings, our mission is to support education for all students. If my old notes can help someone new, I’m happy to share them. Everything here is completely free. You can find more notes and resources on our website.

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My Comments on AP Computer Science Principles

These notes cover everything you need to know to do well. That said, you don’t need to memorize everything to pass. If you focus on understanding the big ideas, you’ll be fine. But if you’re going for a higher score, these notes will definitely help you get there.

I've also included some tips and resources that were incredibly helpful during my Create Task, along with the project I submitted to College Board for inspiration. I’ve gone in-depth on Big Idea 3 to simplify programming, especially for those who may be programming for the first time. Additionally, I’ve included a bunch of algorithms that are almost guaranteed on the exam. After countless hours of studying and taking the exam, I've made sure to include everything you need to succeed.

They've moved the FRQs to the exam itself to prevent AI-generated responses in the digital portfolio, but I don't think it changes much. These notes will help you understand the principles of computer science and programming so you can confidently explain your code. Just make sure you can explain your code clearly and understand basic vocabulary like "relational operations" or "conditionals." You might be asked to create an algorithm during the exam, as I was, which can be challenging. However, if you understand the common algorithms covered in Big Idea 3, you'll be well-prepared. This class is straightforward to pass, but aiming for a 5 requires more effort. To get a 5, you'll need a 90/100 raw score on the exam, which means a perfect Create Task and no more than 10 MCQs incorrect. It all comes down to your performance on exam day.

We will be posting progress checks on our @scholarlywings TikTok as you progress through these notes through the school year, so stay tuned!

Our Digital PDF Book

AP Computer Science Principles Digital Book PDF