A teacher notices that students who watch videos on the same platform at home report increasingly one-sided views on a current-events topic, even though they began the unit with mixed opinions. Which explanation best accounts for this pattern?

Recommendation algorithms rank content by predicted engagement, so feeds keep showing videos like past ones.

Content delivery networks keep copies of popular videos near users, so only trending videos can load at full quality.

Compression on the platform removes less-watched videos from its servers, so fewer viewpoints remain available to stream.

Search engines index only the newest uploads on a topic, so older videos presenting other viewpoints cannot be located.

A student uses a school-issued laptop to run software that consumes network bandwidth to earn money for himself. Which school document most directly defines whether this use is permitted and what consequences apply?

The district's technology acceptable use policy

The software's end-user license agreement

The district's annual FERPA notice to families

The state's computer science learning standards

A student reports three problems with a grade program: (1) the interpreter refuses to run it because a colon is missing after a for statement; (2) it halts with an error when a class has no students and the program divides by the count; (3) it runs to completion but divides every total by 30, even for classes of 25. How should these be classified, in order?

Syntax error, runtime error, logic error

Runtime error, syntax error, logic error

Syntax error, logic error, runtime error

Logic error, runtime error, syntax error

A library computer displays a ransom note, and the technology coordinator confirms that files on a mapped shared drive are being renamed and encrypted in real time. According to standard incident-response phases, what should the coordinator do next?

Disconnect the infected computer from the network

Restore the shared drive from last night's backup

Wipe and reinstall the operating system on that PC

Email all families that student data was breached

A student app sends frequent notifications, awards streaks for consecutive days of use, and gives unpredictable rewards each time it is opened. What effect on individual users are these design choices most likely intended to produce?

Habitual use driven by reinforcement, which can crowd out other activities

Lower data usage, because short sessions require less network bandwidth

Stronger privacy, because notifications reduce the need to log in often

Better accessibility, because rewards help users who have low vision

A student developer has built a room-scheduling tool for the school library. The librarian, who has no programming background, asks how the tool decides which room to assign when two requests conflict. Which response best demonstrates the communication skills expected in computing careers?

Explaining the rule in plain language with an example of two conflicting requests

Sharing the source code so the librarian can read the conflict-handling logic directly

Telling the librarian that the logic is too technical to explain without training

Listing the data structures and algorithms used, along with their time complexity

A student fixes a bug in the scoring procedure of a team's quiz game. The fix works for the input that failed, but two days later a teammate finds that the timer feature, which worked before, now ends rounds early. Which practice would most likely have caught this before the fix was shared?

Rerunning the full existing test suite after the change to confirm earlier features still work

Testing the scoring procedure again with the same input that originally failed, several more times

Asking a classmate to read the scoring code aloud while the program is not being executed

Adding comments above the changed lines that explain what the fix was intended to accomplish

NYSTCE Computer Science (194)

Free NYSTCE Computer Science (194) Practice Questions

10 sample questions for the NYSTCE Computer Science (194), with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.

Sections covered on the exam: Impacts of Computing, Computational Thinking and Programming, Networks, the Internet, and System Design, Cybersecurity.

Question 1 · Impacts of Computing
A teacher notices that students who watch videos on the same platform at home report increasingly one-sided views on a current-events topic, even though they began the unit with mixed opinions. Which explanation best accounts for this pattern?
- A.Recommendation algorithms rank content by predicted engagement, so feeds keep showing videos like past ones.
- B.Content delivery networks keep copies of popular videos near users, so only trending videos can load at full quality.
- C.Compression on the platform removes less-watched videos from its servers, so fewer viewpoints remain available to stream.
- D.Search engines index only the newest uploads on a topic, so older videos presenting other viewpoints cannot be located.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Recommendation algorithms rank content by predicted engagement, so feeds keep showing videos like past ones.
Personalization algorithms optimize for engagement by recommending content similar to what a viewer already watched, which narrows exposure over time and can create a filter bubble that reinforces one viewpoint. Content delivery networks are tempting because they do shape what loads quickly, but they cache copies to reduce latency; they do not decide which viewpoints a feed recommends to a particular student.
Question 2 · Impacts of Computing
A student uses a school-issued laptop to run software that consumes network bandwidth to earn money for himself. Which school document most directly defines whether this use is permitted and what consequences apply?
- A.The software's end-user license agreement
- B.The district's technology acceptable use policy
- C.The district's annual FERPA notice to families
- D.The state's computer science learning standards
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. The district's technology acceptable use policy
An acceptable use policy states how students and staff may use district devices and networks, which activities are prohibited, such as personal commercial use, and what consequences follow. The software's license agreement is tempting because it governs the software, but it addresses the user's rights with the software maker, not what the district allows on its equipment or how it disciplines misuse.
Question 3 · Computational Thinking and Programming
A student reports three problems with a grade program: (1) the interpreter refuses to run it because a colon is missing after a for statement; (2) it halts with an error when a class has no students and the program divides by the count; (3) it runs to completion but divides every total by 30, even for classes of 25. How should these be classified, in order?
- A.Runtime error, syntax error, logic error
- B.Syntax error, runtime error, logic error
- C.Syntax error, logic error, runtime error
- D.Logic error, runtime error, syntax error
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Syntax error, runtime error, logic error
A syntax error breaks the language's grammar, so the program cannot start, as with the missing colon. A runtime error occurs while a syntactically valid program executes, such as dividing by zero when the count is 0. A logic error lets the program finish but produces wrong results, as with the fixed divisor of 30. Calling the division-by-zero crash a logic error confuses a crash with silently wrong output.
Question 4 · Networks, the Internet, and System Design
A district wants every student device to have a unique binary identification code, with all codes the same length. There are currently 300 devices, and no growth is expected. What is the minimum number of bits each code needs?
- A.8
- B.9
- C.10
- D.16
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. 9
With b bits there are 2^b distinct codes. Eight bits give 2^8 = 256 codes, fewer than 300, so some devices would have to share a code. Nine bits give 2^9 = 512 codes, enough for all 300 devices. Choosing 8 is tempting because a byte feels like a natural unit, but 256 falls short. Ten or 16 bits would work but are not the minimum.
Question 5 · Cybersecurity
A library computer displays a ransom note, and the technology coordinator confirms that files on a mapped shared drive are being renamed and encrypted in real time. According to standard incident-response phases, what should the coordinator do next?
- A.Restore the shared drive from last night's backup
- B.Disconnect the infected computer from the network
- C.Wipe and reinstall the operating system on that PC
- D.Email all families that student data was breached
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Disconnect the infected computer from the network
The incident has just been identified, so the next phase is containment: isolating the infected machine stops the malware from encrypting more files across the network. Restoring the shared drive is tempting, but recovery before containment lets the still-active ransomware encrypt the restored files again. Wiping the computer is eradication and also destroys evidence too early, and notification decisions follow investigation of what data was actually affected.
Question 6 · Impacts of Computing
A student app sends frequent notifications, awards streaks for consecutive days of use, and gives unpredictable rewards each time it is opened. What effect on individual users are these design choices most likely intended to produce?
- A.Lower data usage, because short sessions require less network bandwidth
- B.Stronger privacy, because notifications reduce the need to log in often
- C.Better accessibility, because rewards help users who have low vision
- D.Habitual use driven by reinforcement, which can crowd out other activities
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Habitual use driven by reinforcement, which can crowd out other activities
Streaks, notifications, and variable rewards are persuasive design techniques based on reinforcement; they are meant to build habits and maximize time spent in the app, which can displace sleep, study, or social time. Lower data usage is tempting because short sessions sound efficient, but these features aim to increase how often users return, so overall usage typically rises rather than falls.
Question 7 · Impacts of Computing
A student developer has built a room-scheduling tool for the school library. The librarian, who has no programming background, asks how the tool decides which room to assign when two requests conflict.
Which response best demonstrates the communication skills expected in computing careers?
- A.Explaining the rule in plain language with an example of two conflicting requests
- B.Sharing the source code so the librarian can read the conflict-handling logic directly
- C.Telling the librarian that the logic is too technical to explain without training
- D.Listing the data structures and algorithms used, along with their time complexity
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Explaining the rule in plain language with an example of two conflicting requests
Computing professionals must explain technical decisions to people who are not programmers, adjusting vocabulary to the audience and using concrete examples. A plain-language explanation with a sample conflict meets the librarian's need. Sharing the source code is tempting because it is complete and accurate, but it is not understandable to someone without programming experience, so it fails as communication with this audience.
Question 8 · Computational Thinking and Programming
A student fixes a bug in the scoring procedure of a team's quiz game. The fix works for the input that failed, but two days later a teammate finds that the timer feature, which worked before, now ends rounds early. Which practice would most likely have caught this before the fix was shared?
- A.Testing the scoring procedure again with the same input that originally failed, several more times
- B.Asking a classmate to read the scoring code aloud while the program is not being executed
- C.Rerunning the full existing test suite after the change to confirm earlier features still work
- D.Adding comments above the changed lines that explain what the fix was intended to accomplish
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Rerunning the full existing test suite after the change to confirm earlier features still work
A change in one part of a program can break features elsewhere, which is called a regression. Regression testing reruns the existing suite of tests after every change, so a failing timer test would have appeared immediately. Retesting only the original failing input confirms the fix but cannot detect side effects in other features. Reading code and adding comments help, but they do not execute the timer behavior.
Question 9 · Networks, the Internet, and System Design
A student's program stores an uncompressed image that is 800 pixels wide and 600 pixels tall, using 24-bit RGB color. How many bytes are needed to store the pixel data, ignoring any file header?
- A.480,000 bytes
- B.1,440,000 bytes
- C.11,520,000 bytes
- D.14,400,000 bytes
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. 1,440,000 bytes
The image contains 800 × 600 = 480,000 pixels. Each pixel uses 24 bits, which is 24 ÷ 8 = 3 bytes, so the pixel data takes 480,000 × 3 = 1,440,000 bytes, about 1.44 MB. The figure 11,520,000 is the size in bits (480,000 × 24), which is tempting if the bits-to-bytes conversion is skipped. 480,000 counts pixels as if each used only one byte.

Question 10 · Cybersecurity

Step	Action
P	Rebuild the server from a clean image and restore data from backup
Q	Delete the malicious scheduled task and patch the exploited flaw
R	Disconnect the infected server's network segment
S	Confirm that an alert about mass file renaming is real ransomware
T	Meet to review the response and update the incident plan

A district technology team handled a ransomware incident on a file server using the actions shown. In which order should these actions occur according to standard incident-response phases?

A.S, R, Q, P, T
B.R, S, Q, P, T
C.S, Q, R, P, T
D.S, R, P, Q, T

Show answer and explanation

Answer: A. S, R, Q, P, T

The phases are identification (S, confirming the alert), containment (R, isolating the segment), eradication (Q, removing the malicious task and closing the flaw), recovery (P, rebuilding and restoring), and lessons learned (T). Placing containment first is tempting, but the team must first confirm the incident is real before disrupting service. Restoring before eradicating risks reinfection, because the attacker's foothold and the unpatched flaw would still be present.

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