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Free AP Computer Science Principles Study Guide

AP Computer Science Principles · All 5 Big Ideas

Master AP CSP from creative development through the impact of computing. Flashcards, cheat sheets, essential terms, practice questions, and visual reviews for all 5 big ideas, all completely free.

5 big ideas
70 MCQ exam
+ Create Performance Task
College Board aligned
100% free

Choose your big idea

Each big idea has 6 study resources: flashcards, cheat sheet, essential terms, practice questions, visual review, and FRQ practice.

Unit 1
Big Idea 1
Creative Development
Collaboration, program function and purpose, the iterative development process, and identifying and correcting errors.
10–13% of exam
Start Unit 1 →
Unit 2
Big Idea 2
Data
Binary numbers, data compression, extracting information from data, and using programs to process data.
17–22% of exam
Start Unit 2 →
Unit 3
Big Idea 3
Algorithms & Programming
Variables, expressions, conditionals, iteration, lists, procedures, algorithms, simulation, and efficiency: the largest big idea.
30–35% of exam
Start Unit 3 →
Unit 4
Big Idea 4
Computer Systems & Networks
How the Internet works, fault tolerance, and parallel and distributed computing.
11–15% of exam
Start Unit 4 →
Unit 5
Big Idea 5
Impact of Computing
Beneficial and harmful effects, the digital divide, computing bias, crowdsourcing, and legal, ethical, and safety concerns.
21–26% of exam
Start Unit 5 →

About AP Computer Science Principles

AP Computer Science Principles (AP CSP) is a college-level introductory computing course that explores the foundational concepts of computer science and how computing shapes the world. Rather than focusing on a single programming language, it teaches computational thinking: designing solutions, developing algorithms, working with data, and reasoning about the impact of technology on society.

The course is organized into five big ideas: Creative Development, Data, Algorithms & Programming, Computer Systems & Networks, and the Impact of Computing. Students learn to collaborate, build and debug programs, analyze data, understand how the Internet works, and evaluate the beneficial and harmful effects of computing.

The AP score combines a 70-question multiple-choice exam (70% of the score) with the Create Performance Task (30%), a program students design and document. Every page on this site is aligned to the College Board's official AP CSP Course and Exam Description and completely free.

What's included in each big idea

Every big idea has the same 6 study resources, designed for different learning styles.

Flashcards
Interactive cards per big idea
Cheat Sheet
One-page visual summary
Essentials
Key terms and core concepts
Visual Review
Slide-by-slide walkthrough
Practice MCQ
Exam-style questions
FRQ Practice
Written-response practice

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