The ACSL is the longest running computer science contest in the United States since 1978. Since 2020 the contest is open to people online worldwide through KTBYTE. This club will allow students to review material, receive live instructions practicing historical contests, and participate together as a team in KTBYTE.
Clubs are run by qualified, award-winning KTBYTE Teaching Assistants.
Junior Age 12-15, Grades 7-9
Computer Number Systems
Today we went over the contest format and practiced strategies for Computer Number Systems problems. The optional homework is to try problems 3 and 4 from the Short Answer Questions. If you'd like you can also try the Recursive Functions Problems (1-2), which we'll learn about next week.
Recursive Functions
Today we cover strategies for solving Recursive Function problems and the Branching problem. We start with the Recursive Functions problems (3-4) in the short answer test from 2018-2019.
Contest 1 - What Does This Program Do? - Branching
Today we learned about analyzing and solving problems involving pseudo code! We will build off of this bit by bit in future contests.
Review for Contest 1
Today, we reviewed for the shorts portion of Contest 1 by completing miscellaneous problems that have shown up on past contests.
Contest 1 Programming
Today we practiced solving programming problems from past years' first contests.
Contest 2- Prefix, Infix, Postfix Notation
Today we learned how to solve problems involving prefix, infix, and postfix notation. This type of question appears in problems 1-2 of contest 2.
Contest 2- Bit String Flicking
Today we learned about Bit-String Flicking, a concept that involves some boolean algebra along with other logical operators with 0s and 1s. The notation takes some getting used to, but once you understand it, you'll be able to solve some very interesting ACSL problems!
Contest 2- What Does This Program Do? - Looping
Today we learned about analyzing and solving problems involving pseudo code, a concept that branches off Topic 3 from Contest 1, by adding looping!
More What Does This Program Do? - Looping
Today, we continued with the topic "What Does This Program Do - Looping" to explore some more tricky problems that have come up on previous contests.
Contest 2 Programming
Today we practiced solving programming problems from past years' second contests.
Review for Contest 2 (Session 1)
Today, we reviewed for the shorts portion of Contest 2 by completing miscellaneous problems that have shown up on past contests.
Review for Contest 2 (Session 2)
Today, we continued reviewing for the shorts portion of Contest 2 by completing miscellaneous problems that have shown up on past contests.
Contest 3 - Boolean Algebra
We learned about solving problems involving the first Contest 3 topic, Boolean algebra.
Contest 3 - Data Structures
We learned about solving problems involving the second Contest 3 topic, Data structures. These include queues, stacks, and binary search trees.
Contest 3 - What Does This Program Do? - Arrays
Today, explored some rather tricky Array-Pseudocode problems that have come up on previous contests. As we've said in the past two contests with these types of problems, every problem has a trick to it! Today we will simply add another level of syntax to that idea.
Review for Contest 3 (Session 1)
Today, we reviewed for the shorts portion of Contest 3 by completing miscellaneous problems that have shown up on past contests. We also reviewed a programming problem, Stretch.
Review for Contest 3 (Session 2)
Today, we continued reviewing for the shorts portion of Contest 3 by completing miscellaneous problems that have shown up on past contests.
Contest 4 - Graph Theory
We explored Graph Theory, which involves a mathematical concept called matrix multiplication.
Contest 4 - Digital Electronics
Today, we learned about solving problems involving the second Contest 4 topic, Digital Electronics. This topic is an extension of Boolean Algebra. In fact, it’s simply a visual representation of Boolean algebra expressions using circuits, so bring all your Contest 3 Boolean algebra knowledge to the lesson!
Contest 4 - What Does This Program Do? - Strings
Today, we explored some rather tricky String-Pseudocode problems that have come up on previous contests. As we've said in the past three contests with these types of problems, every problem has a trick to it! Today we will simply add yet another level of syntax to that idea.
Review for Contest 4
Today, we reviewed for the shorts portion of Contest 4 by completing miscellaneous problems that have shown up on past contests.
ACSL Junior Finals Review Session 1
Today, we reviewed for the shorts portion of ACSL Junior Finals by completing miscellaneous problems that have shown up on past contests. We also discussed some trickier application of previous concepts already taught.
ACSL Junior Finals Review Session 2
Today, we reviewed for the shorts portion of ACSL Junior Finals by completing miscellaneous problems that have shown up on past contests.
ACSL Junior Finals Review Session 3
Today, we reviewed for the shorts portion of ACSL Junior Finals by completing miscellaneous problems that have shown up on past contests. We also practiced solving programming problems from past years' all-star contests.