CollegeBoard releases a brand-new AP course: AP Puzzles
The first AP Puzzles exam is taking place on Jun 31, 2024.
On May 8th, 2023, CollegeBoard announced the release of AP Puzzles, a brand-new AP designed to enhance student's problem-solving skills and puzzle intuition for college and beyond. CollegeBoard released a multitude of resources, including the AP Puzzles Course and Exam Description (CED), dates and relevant information, and a full example practice test.
General Information
- About the Course: Explore the principles of problem-solving by analyzing and solving complex puzzles of various forms, from chess puzzles to codes, using critical thinking, logical reasoning, and creativity.
- Exam Date: The first AP Puzzles exam will be administered on June 31st, 2024, at 10pm local time, or 3am local time, if you live in a US state that starts with 'A' or 'P'.
- Credit Policy: All Ivy Leagues, MIT, and Chattahoochee Valley Community College award college credit for exam scores of 2, 3, and 5. No credit is awarded for an exam score of 4.[1]
Course Content
The following units will be tested on AP Puzzles:
Unit 1: Basic Puzzle Concepts & Skills
Learn basic puzzle concepts and puzzle-solving techniques. Topics may include:
- Types of puzzles (e.g. logic puzzles, word puzzles, spatial puzzles)
- Understanding puzzle rules and instructions
- Critical thinking and problem-solving strategies
- Developing pattern recognition skills
Exam Weighting: 15%
Unit 2: Spatial Puzzles
Learn how to approach and solve spatial puzzles. Topics may include:
- Chess knight puzzles
- Sudoku and mini-Sudoku
- Four-Number puzzles
- Constructing spatial puzzles
Exam Weighting: 30%
Unit 3: Logic Puzzles
Learn how to approach and solve logic puzzles. Topics may include:
- Mastermind puzzles
- Basic deductive reasoning
- Advanced deductive reasoning
Exam Weighting: 30%
Unit 4: Number Puzzles/Codes
Learn how to approach and solve number puzzles/codes. Topics may include:
- Number sequence problems
- Combinatorics problems
- Basic cryptography
Exam Weighting: 25%
About the Exam
The AP Puzzles exam consists of two sections:
Section I: Multiple-Choice Section
This section lasts 20 minutes, contains 16 questions, and consists of 60% of your total exam score. Halfway through the section, two frenzied monkeys—who each must have consumed at least 800mg of caffeine—will be released into the exam room. CollegeBoard is not responsible for any monkey-related injury.
Section II: Free-Response Section
This section lasts 20 minutes, contains 2 questions, and consists of 40% of your total exam score. The exam proctor will initiate Section II by announcing the remaining time of 1200 seconds and will continue to verbally count down the remaining seconds for the entirety of the section.
Other Popular Courses
Students who take AP Puzzles typically also take:
- AP Underwater Basket Weaving
- AP 5D Art and Design
- AP Calculus DE
- AP Lunch
- AP European Floor Construction
This is satire
In case it wasn't obvious. June does not have 31 days! NOT SATIRE: I spent a long time creating these puzzles, and I think they are quite fun. Try them yourself:
When I'm not feeling lazy I'll host the Dropbox PDFs on this site.
These universities have issued a joint statement explaining this decision, citing that "4 is not a prime number". ↩︎
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