Advanced Topics in Computer Science, HB Woodlawan
APCS Level A option
Alternative Timeline Calendar for 34 Weeks to AP Exam, EIMACS, Sept 6 - May 2 2017
Eimacs.com online course from the Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science.
See detailed syllabus when logged in

This calendar version does not require coursework over Thanksgiving and Winter breaks, but does require review work over Spring Break
Includes only 3 weeks of review for weeks 30-32
For AP credit, the APCS Level A exam must be taken Tuesday May 2 2017 8am

Section 1: Java Basics

Unit 1: Introduction and Variables (Week 1) Sept 6-13:

• Introduction; Computer Hardware, Software, Systems, Ethical and Responsible Use; Integers; Doubles; and Casting.
• Exercises 1 - 6. Quick Reference 1.
• Test 1.

Unit 2: Expressions (Weeks 2 - 4) Tests 2-5, Sept 13 - Oct 4

• Arithmetic Expressions; Declaring and Assigning Values to Variables; Programming Shortcuts; Strings; Concatenation; String Methods; System.out Methods; Converting Between Numbers and Strings; Booleans; Relational Operators; Comparing Strings; Logical Operators; and Arrays.
• Activities 1 - 5.
• Quick References 2 - 5.
• Tests 2 - 5.

Unit 3: Program Control (Weeks 5-7) Tests 6,7,8,9 Activities 6,7,8,9,10 Oct 4 - Oct 25

• Conditional Statements; Blocks; Iteration; While Loops; For Loops; and For-each Loops.
• Exercises 51 - 74.
• Quick References 6 - 9.
• Activities 6 - 10.
• Tests 6 - 9.

Unit 4: Methods (Weeks 8-11) Test 10,11, Activities 11, 12, 13, Lab 1 Oct 25 - Nov 22

• Static Methods; Defining New Static Methods; The main Method; Java Comments; Multiple Variable Declarations; Overloaded Methods; and Recursive Methods.
• Exercises 75 - 92.
• Quick References 10 and 11.
• Activities 11 - 13.
• Lab 1
• Tests 10 and 11.

Section 2: Object-Oriented Programming This section introduces students to object-oriented programming. The remaining hidden code that is being added automatically by the web service is revealed.

Unit 5: Object-Oriented Programming Concepts (Weeks 12-16) Tests 12, 13, Activities 14, Nov 22 (Thanksgiving break) - Jan 10 (includes Winter break)

• An introduction to OOP in the context of Java; an overview of Classes and Instances; Simple Objects; A Person Class; A Point Class; Public Classes and the Java Compiler; The Java Compiler and the Virtual Machine; Errors, Exceptions, and Garbage Collection; Arrays and Objects; and ArrayLists.
• Exercises 93 - 115.
• Quick References 12 and 13
• Activities 14 - 16.
• Labs 2 and 3.
• Tests 12 and 13.

Unit 6: Inheritance and Polymorphism (Weeks 17 - 19) Tests 14, 15, Activities 17,18,19, Lab 4, Jan 10 - Jan 31

• Extending Classes; Class Hierarchies; Polymorphism; and Overriding Methods.
• Exercises 116 - 137.
• Activities 17 - 19.
• Lab 4.
• Quick References 14 and 15.
• Tests 14 and 15.

Unit 7: Class Definitions Revisited (Week 20) Test 16, Activities 20, 21, 22, 23 Jan 31 - Feb 7

• Class Methods; Class Variables and Constants; final Block Variables; Multiple Constructors; Overloaded Instance Methods; Wrapper Classes; Access Modifiers; this; and Object Aliasing.
• Exercises 138 - 151.
• Activities 20 - 23.
• Quick Reference 16.
• Test 16.

Unit 8: Abstractions (Weeks 21 - 23) Test 17, Lab 5, Activities 24, 25,26 Feb 7 - Feb 28

• Abstract Classes; Interfaces; and, in particular, the List and Comparable Interfaces.
• Exercises 152 - 166.
• Activities 24 - 26.
• Lab 5.
• Quick Reference 17.
• Test 17.

Section 3: Algorithms
This section introduces students to basic algorithms in the context of arrays, and includes a variety of standard searching and sorting algorithms.

Unit 9: Introduction to Algorithms (Week 24) Activities 27-28, Lab 6 Feb 28 - March 7

• Algorithms; Traversals; Replacements; Insertions; and Deletions.
• Exercises 167 - 171.
• Activities 27 and 28.
• Lab 6.

Unit 10: Searching and Sorting, and Program Analysis (Weeks 25 - 29) March 7 - April 11 (Spring break), Tests 18, 19, Activities 29, 30, Labs 7,8

• Sequential search; Binary search; Selection sort; Insertion sort; Merge sort; Assertions and Exceptions.
• Exercises 172 - 204.
• Activities 29 and 30.
• Labs 7 and 8.
• Quick References 18 and 19.
• Tests 18 and 19.

Section 4: Epilogue
The final section emphasizes the importance of review and practice in preparation for the Advanced Placement Exam.

Unit 11: Review and Practice (Week 30 - 32 - only 3 weeks of review) April 11 (Spring Break Apr 10-14) - May 2 (Level A Exam Tuesday May 2 8am)

• Free-response Question Sets 1 - 3
• The eIMACS online edition of Be Prepared for the AP Computer Science Exam in Java, 6th ed., by Maria Litvin and Gary Litvin.