Computer Science Placement Test - Topic List and Sample Questions
Computer Science Placement Test: Topic List
1. On Mac and Windows computers, you should know how to
- Do basic video editing with iMovie or a Windows-based video editor;
- Use Google Mail and Calendar;
- Use the web and library databases for research; use Google search tools to refine a search;
- Create a web page with images and links using basic HTML;
- Save and share files with cloud-based services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.;
- Use flash drives and other removable media; connect to projectors and adjust display settings; install and update software; prevent viruses;
- Get help from a variety of sources to solve a tech problem or learn a new technique.
2. Using Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or Apple Pages, you should know how to
- Format text (font, size, color, style);
- Set margins and page layout;
- Use headers and footers, page numbers and page breaks;
- Insert footnotes and endnotes;
- Create and format tables, add borders and shading;
- Insert symbols, equations, accents, hyperlinks, and text-wrapped images;
- Use spelling and grammar check.
3. Using Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, or Apple Numbers, you should know how to
- Use formulas and functions;
- Use relative and absolute references (locked cells);
- Create charts, including pie and column charts and scatter plots;
- Label chart axes, set axis data source, set appropriate scales;
- Add trend lines to graphs, and use the trend line equation for estimating values;
- Sort and filter data;
- Use spreadsheet printing features (reduce/enlarge, set print area, header/footer);
- Copy tables and graphs into a word processor or presentation program;
- Explain the difference between a spreadsheet and a database.
4. Using Google Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Apple Keynote, you should know how to
- Add, remove, and reorder slides;
- Insert and resize images;
- Change slide backgrounds;
- Insert hyperlinks into slides;
- Add notes to a slide and print them.
5. Other software
- Use Photoshop to work with layers, magic wand, clone stamp, and liquify tools, drop shadows, filters, cropping, resizing, adding text, image adjustments, exporting, compression;
- Use Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu) or Python (http://trinket.io) to create a program with loops/repeats, if statements, and variables;
- Use Garageband to record audio, trim, split, loop, adjust track volume, use built-in beats, snap to grid, and export to MP3;
- Use bibliographic software.
Computer Science Placement: Sample Test Questions
I. Word Processing
- Create a new word processing document and name the file with your last name.
- Make the margins 0.75 inches.
- Put your name in the header and an automatic page number in the footer.
- Create a table with three rows and two columns, but no borders.
- Insert a footnote on the word “footnote” and for the source, write “source.”
- Make a fake word that uses three common accents.
- Insert a page break.
II. Research and Presentations
Start a new presentation and in each slide, put answers to the following questions:
- If you wanted to figure out how to use a new program, how would you go about it? Please describe the steps you would take, including where and how you would search.
- Briefly describe what the cloud (or cloud computing) is, and give an example.
III. Spreadsheets
- Below are some data for the Baking Club, showing cookie sales for their first 4 years in business. Begin a new spreadsheet and paste in these data:
Year # sold cost price profit 1 212 0.75 1.50 2 344 3 476 4 608
- In the profit column, calculate the profit based on the formula: price minus the cost, times # sold). Note that the cost and price never change, so you can lock those cells in your formula.
- Use a graph and a trend line to calculate how much money they'll raise in year 5, assuming the trend continues linearly (hint: you'll need to add the trend line equation).
IV. Other Software
- Using Scratch, create a script so the cat follows your mouse movement, but when it touches the bottom of the screen it says “Hello.”
- Using Photoshop, combine two images using two different layers. Clone Stamp something in the top image, and cut away the background to reveal the image below. Add a drop-shadow to one of the layers.