2026 AP CSP Unit 1 Review

the ability to break a larger problem down into smaller parts

long-term memory that computers use to store data files or other more permanent pieces of information that a user would expect to be able to access consistently

part of the computer that processes data and allows the computer to "think." Sometimes referred to as a "computer chip"

a programmable device that stores, retrieves, and processes data; an electronic machine or device that performs processes, calculations and operations based on instructions provided by a software program

a group of programming statements that is part of a program

a collection of computer commands that perform a specific task when run by a computer; often referred to as software

any data sent from a program to a device; can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile, audio, visual, or text

when you develop a step-by-step plan or the rules to follow to solve a problem

set of instructions or commands that tell the computer what to do

short-term memory that computers use to cache temporary data that they can access quickly; data that gets constantly deleted or over-written

how a program functions during execution; often described by how a user interacts with it

parts of a computer that can output information to the outside world (i.e. display screen, printer, speakers)

any object in a game that has properties (i.e. position, velocity) and behaviors (i.e. it can move, it has effects)

when you identify what defines the patterns you see, focus on the important information, and derive general rules and concepts that can be applied in other areas (carving out the relevant from the irrelevant)

something that includes a program as an integral part of its function; it can be physical (e.g., self driving car), nonphysical computing software (e.g., picture editing software), or a nonphysical computing concept (e.g., e-commerce)

any part of a computer that can take information from the outside world and input it into the computer (i.e. keyboard, mouse, camera)

data sent to a computer for processing by a program; it can come in a variety of forms, such as tactile, audio, visual, or text inputs

the physical parts of a computer

higher-level software usually specialized to do a particular task (i.e. Minecraft, Microsoft Word, banking website)

how a computer stores data

a part of code that 'handles' or listens for a specific type of event; when that event occurs, the code inside the event handler is run

when you observe similarities and patterns within problems

an occurrence; things that happen; usually associated with an action (i.e. mouse click, button pressed)