Lab Milestones

On this page, you will find a list of questions related to each lab. These questions highlight what we think are the most important questions / takeaways from the lab.

When you finish a lab, please let an instructor know and they will go through the questions for your lab with you. This is intended to be a discussion rather than an exam! The instructor will work with you to assess your comprehension and help clarify any concepts or questions you might have missed.

Lab 1B:Introduction to Programming

How do you ensure you are logged into Snap!?
Show us that you’ve saved this lab to your Snap! account. This is important so you can refer back to your work for future assignments!
Show us your Alonzo game.
Is there anything you found interesting or challenging about Snap!?

Lab 2B:Gossip

Why do we create our own blocks (or procedures)?
What is the difference between a reporter and a command block? What is an example of each?
Show us your “more complicated gossip” block.
In the last exercise, we asked you to have “more complicated who” call itself. What do you think is happening here? Don’t worry if you don’t fully understand this; we will formalize this in a few days!

Lab 3B:Modern Art with Polygons

In this lab you learned a few blocks that achieve repetition. Which blocks are these, and when might you use them?
How do you add an input to a block (or procedure)? Why might you do want to do this?
Show your most recent pinwheel block. What do the different inputs (or argumnets) control?
Show us your squiral block.

Lab 1A:Welcome to Snap!

No checkoff needed

Lab 1B:Welcome to Snap!

Show your field of flowers (last page of lab).
Why should you Build Your Own Blocks? Give a reason that someone may create a custom block.
What are some different ways to achieve repetition? Name at least 2.
Show your random-walk sprite.
Show your draw square-leaved flower... block.

Lab 4Lists and Higher Order Functions

What is a list? Why would we use a list of 10 elements instead of just making 10 variables?
What do map, keep, and combine each do?
Show us your acronym block.
Show us your expand block.
What is the difference between the for each (item) loop and the for (i) loop we have used in previous labs?

Lab 5Tic-Tac-Toe

Show us your winning triple block.
How did you program the computer strategy? Show us your “next move” block.

Lab 6Testing and 2048

How does the test block work? What is its domain/range?
Show us the output of your test block on merge column. Explain why this output makes sense, and how the test block is checking this block.
How will writing tests help you for the 2048 assignment?
How do merge up and merge column work? What are the domain/range of each block?

Lab 7Trees and Fractals Using Recursion

Please show me your “crazy-tree” block.
Why is it important that the inputs to a recursive call be smaller than the original inputs to the function?
Why is it important that the sprite face the same direction at the end of a recursive function as it faced initially?
What defines a recursive block? What are the two necessary “cases” that a recursive block must consider? Name and define them.
Please show me your “snowflake” block.

Lab 8Recursive Reporters

Why do we map the first item of the set in front of a recursive call of subsets _ over the rest of the list?
Explain why the second version of subsets _ only makes 7 calls instead of 64.
Explain how the sort _ block works, how the merge _ block works, and how they work together.
Show us the recursive numbers _ block.
Show us the recursive ends-e _ block.