The AP Computer Science A exam opens with 42 multiple-choice questions, and the best way to get comfortable with them is to answer a lot of them. This series gives you 1138 practice questions split into 20 short sets, each one covering a few consecutive topics from the course.

How the practice sets work

• Every set has its own page, named for the topics it assesses.
• Each visit loads five random questions from that set's bank. Reload or press New questions for a different five.
• Pick an answer and press Check answer. You'll see whether you were right and why every choice is right or wrong.
• Once you've checked a question, a table explains, in plain language, the ideas that question was testing. Each code links to that idea in the AP CSA study guide, in a new tab so you don't lose your place.

What the codes mean

The AP Computer Science A course is organized into 4 units, and each unit into numbered topics (1.1, 1.2, and so on). Every topic has learning objectives (1.1.A), and each objective breaks down into the specific ideas you need to know (1.1.A.1). Those codes come from the official course description, and the practice questions are tagged with the ones they test, so you can tell exactly what to study.

Ready to try a whole exam section? The full-length practice tests give you all 42 questions in order, with a score and a list of the essential knowledge you missed at the end.

The questions use the same Java conventions as the exam, so keep the College Board's Java Quick Reference handy as you practice.

Unit 1: Using Objects and Methods

• Topics 1.1–1.2: Algorithms, Compilers, and Variables
• Topics 1.3–1.6: Expressions, Assignment, Casting, and Compound Operators
• Topics 1.7–1.9: APIs, Comments, and Method Signatures
• Topics 1.10–1.11: Class Methods and the Math Class
• Topics 1.12–1.15: Objects, Instantiation, and Strings

Unit 2: Selection and Iteration

• Topics 2.1–2.3: Boolean Expressions and if Statements
• Topics 2.4–2.6: Nested if and Compound Booleans
• Topics 2.7–2.8: while and for Loops
• Topics 2.9–2.10: Selection, Iteration, and String Algorithms
• Topics 2.11–2.12: Nested Iteration and Run-Time Analysis

Unit 3: Class Creation

• Topics 3.1–3.2: Abstraction and Program Design
• Topics 3.3–3.4: Anatomy of a Class and Constructors
• Topics 3.5–3.6: Writing Methods and Passing References
• Topics 3.7–3.9: Class Variables, Scope, and this

Unit 4: Data Collections

• Topics 4.1–4.2: Data Collection Ethics and Data Sets
• Topics 4.3–4.5: Array Creation, Traversal, and Algorithms
• Topics 4.6–4.7: Text Files and Wrapper Classes
• Topics 4.8–4.10: ArrayList Methods, Traversals, and Algorithms
• Topics 4.11–4.13: 2D Arrays
• Topics 4.14–4.17: Searching, Sorting, and Recursion