CPSC 231: Midterm Information

(I will add information here as we get closer to the exam so you should check back here for updates)

Date/location:

• [Link to details]

Review material:

• During lecture as I cover the material I have provided suggestions of what an exam-like question may look like. You should attend class for this info and note the details as it comes up.
• Multiple choice exam review questions: They can be found in D2L under: Assessments->Quizzes
  • Correction to a Quiz (May 29): Midterm review questions, not graded: questions from the exam instructions/exam information
    • Question 3: Option (d) is the correct answer.
• Short answer questions: as I get time I will add them here (not D2L as D2L cannot automatically grade written work and it doesn't allow solutions to be easily posted along with a quiz that includes written questions).
  • Short answer review questions for the programming introduction (keep in mind that format specifiers will only appear on the midterm if they were covered in class): [Question descriptions] [Solutions - try the question before looking here!]
  • Short answer review questions for the branching section: [Question descriptions] [Solutions - try the question before looking here!]
  • Short answer review questions for the section on repetition: [Question descriptions] [Solutions - try the question before looking here!]
  • New (spring 2024): short answer review question for logic/theory: [Question descriptions] [Solutions - try the question before looking here!]
• Still want more practice questions?
  • Try working through the sample problems in the [recommended textbook]
  • Finished all the textbook problems and want still more? Try working through practice problems in the (Python v3.X) textbooks that you can find via the [UC-library website]. (Note that I haven't personally vetted the textbooks for quality or match for this course so you will need to do that beforehand).

Instructions for the day of the exam (instructions that you should follow when you enter the room before you start writing)

• Duration: 60 Minutes during the last part of lecture
• This is a closed book exam: No aids of any sort will be allowed (e.g., cell phones must be shut off and out of sight, calculators, laptops, hand held computers, slide rulers, abaci should not be brought into the exam room) will be allowed.
• DO NOT OPEN the exam until you are told to do so.
• Unless told otherwise you won't be graded for style and documentation.
• You can assume no syntax errors in the instructions unless told otherwise in a question.
• This exam will follow python 3.x syntax.
• Multiple choice instructions:
  • Fill in the contact information for all labeled categories
    • Instructor: James Tam
    • Date: May 30, 2024
    • Course name: CPSC
    • Course number: 231
    • Lecture section: 01
    • Version: Don't need to fill this in for this exam
    • Use an HB pencil or darker (don't use pen) to mark the best answer to each question
    • Important backup for the Scantron answer sheet: In addition to filling in the bubbles make sure you print the required information as well (e.g. mark you student ID number into the bubble but you also need to print your name in the appropriate location as well).
• Instructions for the written questions:
  • You must use a pen for the written questions. If you use a pencil then this may affect grading. If you find a regular pen awkward then an FYI, there exist several brands of erasable pens. Typically the writing can be erased with a regular eraser for a period of time after which it eventually becomes permanent. If you just cannot find any place that sells them then here are some [example places]. But you aren't required to use an erasable pen, it's just a suggestion if you find writing with a regular pen awkward.
  • Put your answer in the specified space.
• To be awarded credit for your exam you need to hand in both your multiple-choice answer sheet and the question booklet with the Scantron sheet inside of the booklet.

Material that you should study

• The lecture material: the PowerPoint slides will provide you with an outline of the topics to be covered. However studying the information just listed on the slides won't be sufficient to do well on the final exam. You will also need to take notes in class and to study and understand those notes. If you have any questions then make sure that you ask me for help and clarification.
• Text books: can be used as another source of material to help you understand the material as you prepare for the exam. I won't however directly examine you on material that is listed in the textbooks that I didn't cover in class.
• Tutorial exercises and the tutorial handouts: what TAs cover in tutorial can also be evaluated in the exam.

Lecture topics (exam review)

Introduction to programming

• Creating, translating programs into binary/machine language and executing programs (i.e. not only knowing how to create and run a program but also what is happening during that process)
• Variables: declaring, assigning values, accessing, naming conventions
• Named constants: difference from variables, naming conventions
• Common arithmetic operators, order of operation
• Print(): displaying string vs. memory (variables, constants) output, format specifiers (you will be tested on the parts covered in lecture), escape codes (as you should have learned to apply with the first graded assignment), triple quoted output.
• Input()
• Functions that convert types: int(), float(), int()
• Strings: concatenation
• Program documentation: inline and header. You may not need to write any for the exam but you should know what each one is and how they differ.
• The three types of errors: syntax, runtime, logic. How they differ, when they occur, examples of each
• Random number generation: random.randrange()

Decision making

• Branching structures: IF, IF-ELSE, IF-ELIF and multiple IFs
• Logical operators: AND, OR, NOT (logical expressions formed inside of Python programs and formed outside of coding e.g. truth tables and the other layouts covered in lecture)
• Nested branches
• Minimum test cases for decision making structures.
• Drawbacks of floating point variables and the use of an Epsilon (this latter topic was only covered in previous semesters so you won't be explicitly tested on this material).

Repetition

• Categories of looping structures: pre-test, post-test
• FOR loops, WHILE loops
• Examples of counting loops: single increment, decrement, increments/decrements in values other than one
• WHILE loops that don't update by a additive amount (e.g. increase by a product)
• FOR loops that iterate through strings

• Erroneous loops: never end, never run

• Sentinel controlled loops

• Nesting: nested loops (loops inside of loops), branches nested in loops, loops nested in branches

• Minimum test cases for loops

• Jakob Nielsen's Usability Heuristics (not covered this semester so you won't be examined on this topic)

Exam topics

Again: You are expected to be familiar with common functions that have been covered in class such as: print(), input(), int(), float(), str(), randrange().

Exam questions¹

^{1 Exam proportions: It's based on a near-final version of the midterm (exact proportions may vary *slightly)*
2 Miscellaneous questions: Material that doesn't fall neatly into one of the above categories e.g. spans multiple topics}

During one semester of CPSC 231 had a midterm with 23 multiple choice questions and 1 short answer question during a class time of no more than 50 minutes. (The class was scheduled for 50 minutes but there's typically a class before and a class afterward with the result that setup/handing out exams may reduce the maximum time for writing the exam).