2025

AP Computer Science A
®

Free-Response Questions

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

COMPUTER SCIENCE A
SECTION II
TIME – 1 HOUR AND 30 MINUTES

Directions:
Section II has 4 free-response questions and lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes.
All program segments must be written in Java. Show all your work. Credit for partial solutions will
be given.
Java Quick Reference information can be accessed in this application and is available throughout
the exam.
Assume that the classes listed in the Java Quick Reference have been imported where appropriate.
Unless otherwise noted in the question, assume that parameters in method calls are not null and
that methods are called only when their preconditions are satisfied.
In writing solutions for each question, you may use any of the accessible methods that are listed in
classes defined in that question. Writing significant amounts of code that can be replaced by a call
to one of these methods will not receive full credit.
You may use the available paper for scratch work, but credit will only be given for responses
entered in this application. Text you enter as an annotation will not be included as part of your
answer.
You can go back and forth between questions in this section until time expires. The clock will turn
red when 5 minutes remain—the proctor will not give you any time updates or warnings.

Note: This exam was originally administered digitally. It is presented here in a format optimized for
teacher and student use in the classroom.

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

1. This question involves dog walkers who are paid through a dog-walking company to take dogs
for one-hour walks. A dog-walking company has a varying number of dogs that need to be
walked during each hour of the day. A dog-walking company is represented by the following
DogWalkCompany class.

public class DogWalkCompany

{
/**
* Returns the number of dogs, always greater than 0, that are available
* for a walk during the time specified by hour
* Precondition: 0 <= hour <= 23
*/
public int numAvailableDogs(int hour)
{ /* implementation not shown */ }

/**
* Decreases, by numberDogsWalked, the number of dogs available for a walk
* during the time specified by hour
* Preconditions: 0 <= hour <= 23
* numberDogsWalked > 0
*/
public void updateDogs(int hour, int numberDogsWalked)
{ /* implementation not shown */ }

/* There may be instance variables, constructors,

and methods that are not shown. */
}

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

A dog walker is associated with a dog-walking company and is represented by the DogWalker
class. You will write two methods of the DogWalker class.

public class DogWalker

{
/** The maximum number of dogs this walker can walk simultaneously
per hour */
private int maxDogs;

/** The dog-walking company this dog walker is associated with */

private DogWalkCompany company;

/**
* Assigns max to maxDogs and comp to company
* Precondition: max > 0
*/
public DogWalker(int max, DogWalkCompany comp)
{ /* implementation not shown */ }

/**
* Takes at least one dog for a walk during the time specified by
* hour, as described in part (a)
* Preconditions: 0 <= hour <= 23
* maxDogs > 0
*/
public int walkDogs(int hour)
{ /* to be implemented in part (a) */ }

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

/**
* Performs an entire dog-walking shift and returns the amount
* earned, in dollars, as described in part (b)
* Preconditions: 0 <= startHour <= endHour <= 23
* maxDogs > 0
*/
public int dogWalkShift(int startHour, int endHour)
{ /* to be implemented in part (b) */ }

/* There may be instance variables, constructors,

and methods that are not shown. */
}

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

A. Write the walkDogs method, which updates and returns the number of dogs this dog
walker walks during the time specified by hour. Values of hour range from 0 to 23,
inclusive.

A helper method, numAvailableDogs, has been provided in the DogWalkCompany class.

The method returns the number of dogs available to be taken for a walk at a given hour.
The dog walker will always walk as many dogs as the dog-walking company has available to
walk, as long as the available number of dogs is not greater than the maximum number of
dogs that the dog walker can handle, represented by the value of maxDogs.

Another helper method, updateDogs, has also been provided in the DogWalkCompany
class. So that multiple dog walkers do not sign up to walk the same dogs, the walkDogs
method should use updateDogs to update the dog-walking company with the number of
dogs this dog walker will walk during the given hour. The parameters of the updateDogs
method indicate how many dogs this dog walker will walk during the time specified by
hour.

For example, if the dog-walking company has 10 dogs that need to be walked at the given
hour but the dog walker’s maximum is 4, the updateDogs method should be used to
indicate that this dog walker will walk 4 of the 10 dogs during the given hour. As another
example, if the dog-walking company has 3 dogs that need to be walked at the given hour
and the dog walker’s maximum is 4, the updateDogs method should be used to indicate
that this dog walker will walk all 3 of the available dogs during the given hour.

The walkDogs method should return the number of dogs to be walked by this dog walker
during the time specified by hour.

Complete method walkDogs. You must use numAvailableDogs and updateDogs

appropriately to receive full credit.

/**
* Takes at least one dog for a walk during the time specified by
* hour, as described in part (a)
* Preconditions: 0 <= hour <= 23
* maxDogs > 0
*/
public int walkDogs(int hour)

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

B. Write the dogWalkShift method, which performs a dog-walking shift of the hours in
the range startHour to endHour, inclusive, and returns the total amount earned. For
example, a dog-walking shift from 14 to 16 is composed of three one-hour dog walks
starting at hours 14, 15, and 16.

For each hour, the base pay is $5 per dog walked plus a bonus of $3 if at least one of the
following is true.
• maxDogs dogs are walked
• the walk occurs between the peak hours of 9 and 17, inclusive

The following table shows an example of the calculated amount earned by walking dogs
from hour 7 through hour 10, inclusive.

Maximum Number of Amount Earned,

Hour
Number of Dogs Dogs Walked in Dollars

7 3 3 3 × 5 + 3 = 18

8 3 2 2 × 5 = 10

9 3 2 2 × 5 + 3 = 13

10 3 3 3 × 5 + 3 = 18

Total 59

Complete method dogWalkShift. Assume that walkDogs works as specified, regardless of

what you wrote in part (a). You must use walkDogs appropriately to earn full credit.

/**
* Performs an entire dog-walking shift and returns the amount
* earned, in dollars, as described in part (b)
* Preconditions: 0 <= startHour <= endHour <= 23
* maxDogs > 0
*/
public int dogWalkShift(int startHour, int endHour)

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

2. This question involves the SignedText class, which contains methods that are used to include
a signature as part of a string of text. You will write the complete SignedText class, which
contains a constructor and two methods.

The SignedText constructor takes two String parameters. The first parameter is a first
name and the second parameter is a last name. The length of the second parameter is always
greater than or equal to 1.

The getSignature method takes no parameters and returns a formatted signature string
constructed from the first and last names according to the following rules.
• If the first name is an empty string, the returned signature string contains just the last
name.
• If the first name is not an empty string, the returned signature string is the first letter of
the first name, a dash ("-"), and the last name, in that order.

The addSignature method returns a possibly revised copy of its String parameter. The
parameter will contain at most one occurrence of the object’s signature, at either the beginning
or the end of the parameter. The returned string is created from the parameter according to the
following rules.
• If the object’s signature does not occur in the String parameter of the method, the
returned String is the value of the parameter with the signature added to the end.
• If the object’s signature occurs at the end of the String parameter, the returned
String is the unchanged value of the parameter.
• If the object’s signature occurs at the beginning of the String parameter, the returned
String is the value of the original parameter with the signature removed from the
beginning and appended to the end of the parameter.

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

The following table contains a sample code execution sequence and the corresponding results.
The code execution sequence appears in a class other than SignedText.

Method Call
Statement Return Value Explanation
(blank if none)

SignedText st1 = new The SignedText object st1 has

SignedText("", "Wong"); an empty first name and last name
"Wong".
String temp =
"Wong"
st1.getSignature();
SignedText st2 = new The SignedText object st2 has
SignedText("henri", first name "henri" and last name
"dubois"); "dubois".
temp = st2.getSignature(); "h-dubois"

SignedText st3 = new The SignedText object st3 has

SignedText("GRACE", first name "GRACE" and last name
"LOPEZ"); "LOPEZ".
temp =
"G-LOPEZ"
st3.getSignature();

SignedText st4 = new The SignedText object st4 has

SignedText("", "FOX"); an empty first name and last name
"FOX".
String text = "Dear";

The signature does not occur in

temp = the addSignature parameter, so
"DearFOX" the returned string is the value of
st4.addSignature(text);
the parameter with the signature
appended.
text = "Best wishesFOX";

The signature occurs at the end of

temp = the addSignature parameter, so the
"Best wishesFOX"
st4.addSignature(text); returned string is the unchanged value
of the parameter.

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Method Call
Statement Return Value Explanation
(blank if none)
text = "FOXThanks";

The signature occurs at the beginning

of the addSignature parameter, so
temp = the returned string is the value of the
"ThanksFOX"
st4.addSignature(text); original parameter with the signature
removed from the beginning and
appended to the end of the parameter.
text = "G-LOPEZHello";

The signature occurs at the beginning

of the addSignature parameter, so
temp = the returned string is the value of the
"HelloG-LOPEZ"
st3.addSignature(text); original parameter with the signature
removed from the beginning and
appended to the end of the parameter.

Write the complete SignedText class. Your implementation must meet all specifications and
conform to the examples in the table.

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

3. This question involves pairing competitors in a tournament into one-on-one matches for
one round of the tournament. For example, in a chess tournament, the competitors are the
individual chess players. A game of chess involving two players is a match. The winner of
each match goes on to a match in the next round of the tournament. Since half of the players
are eliminated in each round of the tournament, there is eventually a final round consisting
of one match and two competitors. The winner of that match is considered the winner of the
tournament.

Competitors, matches, and rounds of the tournament are represented by the Competitor,
Match, and Round classes. You will write the constructor and one method of the Round class.

/** A single competitor in the tournament */

public class Competitor
{
/** The competitor’s name and rank */
private String name;
private int rank;

/**
* Assigns n to name and initialRank to rank
* Precondition: initialRank >= 1
*/
public Competitor(String n, int initialRank)
{ /* implementation not shown */ }

/* There may be instance variables, constructors,

and methods that are not shown. */
}

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

/** A match between two competitors */

public class Match
{
public Match(Competitor one, Competitor two)
{ /* implementation not shown */ }

/* There may be instance variables, constructors,

and methods that are not shown. */
}

/** A single round of the tournament */

public class Round
{
/** The list of competitors participating in this round */
private ArrayList<Competitor> competitorList;

/** Initializes competitorList, as described in part (a) */

public Round(String[] names)
{ /* to be implemented in part (a) */ }

/**
* Creates an ArrayList of Match objects for the next round
* of the tournament, as described in part (b)
* Preconditions: competitorList contains at least one element.
* competitorList is ordered from best to worst rank.
* Postcondition: competitorList is unchanged.
*/
public ArrayList<Match> buildMatches()
{ /* to be implemented in part (b) */ }

/* There may be instance variables, constructors,

and methods that are not shown. */
}

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

A. Write the constructor for the Round class. The constructor should initialize
competitorList to contain one Competitor object for each name in the String[]
names. The order in which Competitor objects appear in competitorList should be the
same as the order in which they appear in names, and the rank of each competitor is based
on the competitor’s position in names. Names are listed in names in order from the best-
ranked competitor with rank 1 to the worst-ranked competitor with rank n, where n is the
number of elements in names.

For example, assume the following code segment is executed.

String[] players = {"Alex", "Ben", "Cara"};

Round r = new Round(players);

The following shows the contents of competitorList in r after the constructor has
finished executing.

Complete the Round constructor.

/** Initializes competitorList, as described in part (a) */

public Round(String[] names)

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

B. Write the Round method buildMatches. This method should return a new
ArrayList<Match> object by pairing competitors from competitorList according to the
following rules.
• If the number of competitors in competitorList is even, the best-ranked
competitor is paired with the worst-ranked competitor, the second-best-ranked
competitor is paired with the second-worst-ranked competitor, etc.
• If the number of competitors in competitorList is odd, the competitor with the
best rank is ignored and the remaining competitors are paired according to the rule
for an even number of competitors.

Each pair of competitors is used to create a Match object that should be added to the
ArrayList to return. Competitors may appear in either order in a Match object, and
matches may appear in any order in the returned ArrayList.

The following example shows the contents of competitorList in a Round object r1

containing an odd number of competitors and the ArrayList of Match objects that should
be returned by the call r1.buildMatches().

competitorList:

The ArrayList to be returned contains a single match between Ben and Cara, the second
and third-ranked competitors:

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The next example shows the contents of competitorList in a Round object r2

containing an even number of competitors and the ArrayList of Match objects that
should be returned by the call r2.buildMatches().

competitorList:

The ArrayList to be returned contains two matches: one match between the first- and last-
ranked competitors Rei and Tim, and a second match between the second- and third-ranked
competitors Sam and Vi:

Complete the buildMatches method.

/**
* Creates an ArrayList of Match objects for the next round
* of the tournament, as described in part (b)
* Preconditions: competitorList contains at least one element.
* competitorList is ordered from best to worst rank.
* Postcondition: competitorList is unchanged.
*/
public ArrayList<Match> buildMatches()

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4. This question involves reasoning about a number puzzle that is represented as a two-
dimensional array of integers. Each element of the array initially contains a value between 1
and 9, inclusive. Solving the puzzle involves clearing pairs of array elements by setting them
to 0. Two elements can be cleared if their values sum to 10 or if they have the same value. The
puzzle is considered solved if all elements of the array are cleared.

You will write the constructor and one method of the SumOrSameGame class, which contains
the methods that manipulate elements of the puzzle.

public class SumOrSameGame

{
private int[][] puzzle;

/**
* Creates a two-dimensional array and fills it with random integers,
* as described in part (a)
* Precondition: numRows > 0; numCols > 0
*/
public SumOrSameGame(int numRows, int numCols)
{ /* to be implemented in part (a) */ }

/**
* Identifies and clears an element of puzzle that can be paired with
* the element at the given row and column, as described in part (b)
* Preconditions: row and col are valid row and column indices in puzzle.
* The element at the given row and column is between 1 and 9, inclusive.
*/
public boolean clearPair(int row, int col)
{ /* to be implemented in part (b) */ }

/* There may be instance variables, constructors,

and methods that are not shown. */
}

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AP COMPUTER SCIENCE A 2025 n FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

A. Write the constructor for the SumOrSameGame class. The constructor initializes the instance
variable puzzle to be a two-dimensional integer array with the number of rows and
columns specified by the parameters numRows and numCols, respectively. Array elements
are initialized with random integers between 1 and 9, inclusive, each with an equal
chance of being assigned to each element of puzzle.

When an element of the two-dimensional array is accessed, the first index is used to specify
the row and the second index is used to specify the column.

Complete the SumOrSameGame constructor.

/**
* Creates a two-dimensional array and fills it with random integers,
* as described in part (a)
* Precondition: numRows > 0; numCols > 0
*/
public SumOrSameGame(int numRows, int numCols)

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B. Write the clearPair method, which takes a valid row index and valid column index as its
parameters. The array element specified by those indices, which has a value between 1 and
9, inclusive, is compared to other array elements in puzzle in an attempt to pair it with
another array element that meets both of the following conditions.
• The row index of the second element is greater than or equal to the parameter row.
• The two elements have equal values or have values that sum to 10.

If such an array element is found, both array elements of the pair are cleared (set to 0) and
the method returns true. If more than one such array element is found, any one of those
identified array elements can be used to complete the pair and can be cleared. If no such
array element is found, no changes are made to puzzle and the method returns false.

The following table shows the possible results of several calls to clearPair.

puzzle puzzle
Return
before call to Method Call after call to Explanation
clearPair clearPair Value
0 7 9 0 0 0 9 0
The value 7 in row 0, column 1
7 4 1 6 clearPair(0, 1) 0 4 1 6 true is matched with the value 7 in
8 4 1 8 8 4 1 8 row 1, column 0.

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 clearPair(2, 2) 5 6 7 8 false There is no element in row 2 or a
later row to pair with the value 1.
5 4 1 2 5 4 1 2

8 1 0 5 8 1 0 5 The value 4 in row 1, column 1

is matched with the value 6 in
0 4 3 6 clearPair(1, 1) 0 0 3 0 true row 1, column 3. It could also
3 4 5 8 3 4 5 8 have been matched with the
value 4 in row 2, column 1.
1 7 9 0 7 0
The value 9 in row 0, column 2
2 6 5 clearPair(0, 2) 2 6 5 true is matched with the value 1 in
4 4 4 4 4 4 row 0, column 0.

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Complete method clearPair.

/**
* Identifies and clears an element of puzzle that can be paired with
* the element at the given row and column, as described in part (b)
* Preconditions: row and col are valid row and column indices in puzzle.
* The element at the given row and column is between 1 and 9, inclusive.
*/
public boolean clearPair(int row, int col)

STOP
END OF EXAM

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