Name: The High School Guide to Mastering Java and AP Computer Science A
Author: Educative

Welcome to your one stop shop to acing your AP Computer Science A examination. This course is a comprehensive run-through of everything you need to know to fly through your exam with confidence. 

With no background knowledge required, you'll learn the fundamentals of computer programming, you'll get hands-on practice coding in Java, and you'll learn real software development skills that will last you a lifetime. You'll also get the chance to test your knowledge with 3 practice exams inside your browser.

Your friends will be jealous. Your life will be changed. Buckle in.

The High School Guide to Mastering Java and AP Computer Science A

What Is This Course About?

Understanding the AP CS A

Exam Overview

Test Structure

Scoring Guidelines

Test Preparation Guidelines

Introduction to Computers

Introduction to Programming

Before We Begin

What Is Java?

Writing Your First Java Program

Printing Styles

Commenting in Java Code

Look Back: Introduction to Java

Free Response Question: Printing Styles

Solution Review: Printing Styles

Quiz Yourself on Printing Styles and Comments

Introduction to Java

Variables

Types of Variables

Primitive Data Types

Operators

Arithmetic Operators

Assignment Operators

Type Casting

Rounding Double Type Variables

The final Keyword

Common Mistakes To Avoid

Look Back: Primitive Types

Free Response Question 1: Equation Construction

Solution Review 1: Equation Construction

Free Response Question 2: Expression Evaluation

Solution Review 2: Expression Evaluation

Quiz Yourself on Variables and Data Types

Unit 1: Primitive Types

Introduction to Classes

Objects: Instances of Classes

Constructors

Methods

Parameters and Return Types in Methods

Different Classifications of Methods

Look Back: Using Objects

Quiz Yourself on Objects

Unit 2-1: Using Objects

Introduction to Strings

API, Libraries, and Packages

Basic Properties of  a String

Concatenation and Escape Sequences

String Methods

More on String Methods

Look Back: Java Strings

Free Response Question 1: Message Encryption

Solution Review: Message Encryption

Quiz Yourself on Strings

Unit 2-2: Java Strings

Java Wrapper Class: Integer

Java Wrapper Class: Double

Autoboxing and Unboxing

Using the Math Class

Basic Math Functions

Look Back: Java Math and Wrapper Classes

Free Response Question 1: Visualize a Triangle in a Circle

Solution Review: Visualize a Triangle in a Circle

Free Response Question 2: Visualize a Vector and Its Components

Solution Review: Visualize a Vector and Its Components

Quiz Yourself on Math and Wrapper Classes

Unit 2-3: Java Math and Wrapper Classes

Boolean Expressions

The if Statement

The if-else Structure

The else if Statement

Free Response Question 1: Assign Grades to Students

Solution Review: Assign Grades to Students

Compound Boolean Expressions

Equivalent Boolean Expressions

Comparing Objects

Look Back: Boolean Expressions and if Statements

Free Response Question 2: Design an ATM

Solution Review: Design an ATM

Quiz Yourself on Boolean Expressions and if Statements

Unit 3: Boolean Expressions and if Statements

Introduction to Loops

while Loops

for Loops

Nested for loops

Free Response Question 1: Car Parking Robot

Solution Review: Car Parking Robot

String Traversals

Look Back: Iteration

Free Response Question 2: Is String a Palindrome?

Solution Review: Is String a Palindrome?

Quiz Yourself on Iteration

Unit 4: Iteration

The Anatomy of a Java Class

Access Specifiers

The Role of a Constructor

Accessor Methods

Mutator Methods

Introduction to Data Hiding

Static Variables and Methods

The this Keyword

Ethical and Social Implications of Computing Systems

Look Back: Writing Classes

Free Response Question: Design a PlayStation

Solution Review: Design a PlayStation

Quiz Yourself on Classes

Unit 5: Writing Classes

Introduction to Arrays

Array Creation and Access

Traversing Arrays

Enhanced for Loop for Arrays

Look Back: Arrays

Free Response Question: Find the Top Scorer in a Class

Solution Review: Find the Top Scorer in a Class

Quiz Yourself on Arrays

Unit 6: Arrays

Introduction to ArrayList

ArrayList Methods

Traversing an ArrayList

Look Back: ArrayList

Free Response Question 1: Removing Duplicates From an ArrayList

Solution Review: Removing Duplicates From an ArrayList

Free Response Question 2: Is ArrayList a Palindrome?

Solution Review: Is ArrayList a Palindrome?

Quiz Yourself on ArrayList

Unit 7-1: ArrayList

Searching Algorithms

Selection Sort

Insertion Sort

Ethical Issues Around Data Collection

Look Back: Searching and Sorting Algorithms

Tracing Challenge: What's the Order?

Quiz Yourself on Searching and Sorting Algorithms

Unit 7-2: Searching and Sorting Algorithms

Two Dimensional (2D) Arrays

Traversing 2D Arrays

Look Back: 2D Arrays

Free Response Question 1: Mirror a 2D Array

Solution Review: Mirror a 2D Array

Free Response Question 2: Multiply the Matrices

Solution Review: Multiply the Matrices

Quiz Yourself on 2D Arrays

Unit 8: 2D Arrays

Getting Started

Project: Tic-Tac-Toe →	Laying the Foundations

Reading the Dataset

Time To Code

Solution Review

Project I: Amazon's Top 50 Bestselling Books Dataset

Introduction to Inheritance

Superclasses and Subclasses

Constructors of Subclasses

Types of Inheritance

Look Back: Inheritance

Free Response Question: Design a Banking Application

Solution Review: Design a Banking Application

Quiz Yourself on Inheritance

Unit 9-1: Inheritance

Introduction to Polymorphism

Overriding Methods

Polymorphism in Action

Object Superclass

Look Back: Polymorphism

Free Response Question: Manage the Sign Boards

Solution Review: Manage the Sign Boards

Quiz Yourself on Polymorphism

Unit 9-2: Polymorphism

Abstraction in Java

Interfaces in Java

Look Back: Abstract Classes and Interfaces

Quiz Yourself on Abstraction and Interfaces

Unit 9-3: Abstract Classes and Interfaces

Overview of Recursion

The Structure of a Recursive Program

Example 1: The Factorial of a Number

Example 2: The Fibonacci Series

Example 3: Merge Sort

Look Back: Recursion

Free Response Question: Recursive Binary Search

Solution Review: Recursive Binary Search

Quiz Yourself on Recursion

Unit 10: Recursion

Time To Code: Task I to Task V

Time To Code: Task VI to Task IX

Solution Review: Task I to Task V

Solution Review: Task VI to Task IX

Project II: Doctor on Call

Debugging in Java

Best Java Coding Practices

Javadoc

Java Tools and Tips

Appendix: Java Quick Reference

Conclusion

Wrapping Up

AP CS A Practice Exam 1

AP CS A Practice Exam 2

AP CS A Practice Exam 3

The High School Guide to Mastering Java and AP Computer Science A

Join 450,000 learners from companies like

Teams of every size choose
Educative for Business
to train, upskill & onboard their developers

The High School Guide to Mastering Java and AP Computer Science A

Join 450,000 learners from companies like

Teams of every size choose Educative for Business to train, upskill & onboard their developers

Teams of every size choose
Educative for Business
to train, upskill & onboard their developers