Computer Science Placement Test - Topic List and Sample Questions

1.   On Mac and Windows computers, you should know how to

• Do basic video editing with iMovie or a Windows-based video editor;
• Use Gmail labels, filters, and attachments;
• Use the web and library databases for research; use Google Advanced Search for files and images;
• Create a web page with images and links, using basic HTML;
• Save and share files with cloud-based services such as Google Drive, iCloud, 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 Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, or Google Docs, you should know how to

• Format text (font, size, color, style);
• Set margins and page layout;
• Use bullets and numbering for lists;
• Use headers and footers;
• Insert footnotes and end-notes;
• Add page numbers and page breaks;
• Create and format tables, add borders and shading;
• Insert symbols, equations, accents, hyperlinks, and text-wrapped images;
• Use spelling and grammar check.

3.   Using Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, or Google Sheets, you should know how to

• Use formulas and functions (average, sum, count, max);
• 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 and forecasts to graphs, then 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 Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, or Google Slides, you should know how to

• Create a presentation;
• 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 (download free trial at http://creative.adobe.com/products/download/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/projects/editor) to create a simple program with multiple sprites, keyboard and mouse controls, sounds, and backdrops;
• Use Sketchup Make (http://www.sketchup.com/download/all) to create models with measurements, components, groups, follow-me, offset, and paint bucket tools, and 3D Warehouse models;
• Use Garageband (or Windows-based music production software) to record audio, trim, split, loop, adjust track volume, use built-in beats, snap to grid, and export to MP3;
• Use bibliographic software.

I. Word Processing

1. Create a new word processing document and name the file with your last name.
2. Make all the margins 0.75 inches.
3. Put your name in the header and an automatic page number in the footer.
4. Create a table with one row and two columns, and a border around the outside.
5. Insert a footnote on the word “footnote” and for the source, write “source.”
6. Make a fake word that uses three common accents.
7. Insert a page break.

II. Research and Presentations

Start a new presentation and in each slide, put answers to the following questions:

1. 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.
2. Briefly describe what a database is, and give an example.

III. Spreadsheets

1. 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

   
    
2. In the cost, price, and profit columns, auto-fill the cost that goes into each cookie (75 cents), the price they sell them for ($1.50) and profit they make (profit is the price minus the cost, times # sold).
3. 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

1. Using Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/editor), create a script so the cat follows your mouse movement, but when it touches the bottom of the screen it says “Hello.”
2. Using Sketchup, make a cube that’s five feet on all sides, add a window made of glass, make the window a component, and use the 3D Warehouse to insert something else, your choice.
3. 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.