Final Exam

The summer quarter final will be held in Skilling Auditorium on Friday, August 18th from 3:30pm - 6:30pm. If you have extra time or other accomodations, you should receive another announcement soon with final exam details.

SCPD students will have a 24 hour window beginning at 3:30pm on August 18th to complete the exam with their exam monitor. If you are an SCPD student and have not organized this with SCPD yet, please do so.

The final will cover material from the first class up through Friday, August 11th's lecture. However, Bit will not be on the final, though the concepts covered in those lectures (looping/variables/control flow etc) will. Content covered after the midterm may be more emphasized, but the final is cumulative. As it is a pencil and paper exam, please bring a pencil and/or other writing utensil. You may also want to bring spare scrap paper.

You will be allowed to bring up to 3 pages of notes, front and back, for this exam. We recommend these reference pages as a solid set of notes to bring:

• Images Reference
• Graphics Reference
• Nick Parlante's Python guide
• List notes from the list lecture
• String notes from the string lecture
• Dictionary notes from the dictionary lecture
• Class notes from the class lecture
• Select code samples that help you understand the course's materials

In addition to your notes, We will provide a reference sheet similar to the one used on the midterm. Here is the reference sheet:

Practice Material

Here are some practice problems from quarter's past. Note that some of these problems cover material that will not be on our exam. In particular, we will not cover Grids or Karel.

• Spring 2021

  • Quiz Review
  • Actual Quiz Questions and Solutions. Note: only consider problems 2 and 3. Note: Problem 2 was also review for the midterm

• Fall 2022

  • Practice Problems and Solutions. Note: disregard the grid and Bit problems - the string and crypto review is most useful here.
  • Actual Midterm and Solutions. Note: only consider problems 2b, 4, 6 and 7. Note: problems 2b and 4 were also review for the midterm
• Spring 2022
  • Practice Final. Note: This exam was taken on computers, but is otherwise a good example of an exam we might give - pay attention to all problems
  • Solutions
  • Actual Final Exam + Solutions. Note: This exam was taken on computers, but is otherwise a good example of an exam we might give - pay attention to all problems
  • Practice Midterm. Note: only problem 5
  • Solution
  • Actual Midterm + Soltuions Only problems 4 and 5
• Spring 2023
  • Midterm Practice Problems. Note: only consider problems 4 and 5. Note: Problem 4 was also on the review for the midterm
  • Midterm Practice Solutions
  • Final Prep Worksheet. Note: Ignore the Rock, Paper Scissors problem and the Fireworks problem
  • Practice Final + Solutions. Note: Ignore problem 6, otherwise this exam is similar to something we might give as a final.

Note that much of the exam information on these practice exams does not apply to our exam which is in-person and on paper.

• By taking the final, you are implicitly agreeing to follow the Stanford Honor Code. Please follow it for a fair exam experience for everybody. If we detect any violations of the Stanford Honor Code during the final, we will have to give you a 0 on the final, and also have to forward a report to the Stanford Office of Community Standards for further penalties. The best way to prep is to practice!

Some tips for Computer Science Exams

• Here are some tips for how to study for a pen and paper CS exam:
  • Get a blank piece of paper and with no references at all, write the whole solution on paper. Check the answer and see where you went wrong. Do not just look at the solution without trying the problem out.
  • Try to understand the homeworks line by line— if necessary, go back and annotate them with comments.
  • Do some of the experimental server problems you didn't get to on the first go.
  • Practice with friends! Once you've solved a problem individually, try explaining and teaching the solutions to each other. Teaching is one of the best ways of learning!
  • Select a problem— from lecture, section, homework, exam practice— and study the solutions after solving the problem.
  • Practice, practice, practice. Practice on paper. Practice timed.