Virtual Labs

1. How is a linear search performed?

a: An element is copied into another array until the required element is found Explanation

Explanation

b: The array is broken into smaller subarrays and the elements are searched recursively Explanation

Explanation

c: The array is traversed sequentially from one end until the required element is found or the array ends Explanation

Explanation

d: The array is sorted first and then only the middle element is checked Explanation

Explanation

2. In the worst case, what is the time complexity of linear search on an array of size

N

O(\log N)

Explanation

O(1)

Explanation

O(N)

Explanation

O(N \log N)

Explanation

3. In the best case, what is the time complexity of linear search?

O(1)

Explanation

O(N \log N)

Explanation

O(\log N)

Explanation

O(N)

Explanation

4. How is linear search disadvantageous compared with search methods that exploit additional structure such as sorted order?

a: It may require more comparisons to find an element Explanation

Explanation

b: It always requires additional memory proportional to the array size Explanation

Explanation

c: It is difficult to implement because it requires recursion Explanation

Explanation

d: It cannot be used on an unsorted array Explanation

Explanation

5. For an ordered linear search,

O(N)

is the worst-case time complexity. An ordered linear search is a linear search on an array that is already sorted.

a: True Explanation

Explanation

b: False Explanation

Explanation

6. What is the best-case number of comparisons for a linear search when the target is the first element of the array?

a: 1 Explanation

Explanation

\log_2(N)

Explanation

N

Explanation

N - 1

Explanation

7. Consider the array [7, 14, 3, 25, 10]. If linear search is used to find 25 from left to right, how many elements are examined?

a: 2 Explanation

Explanation

b: 3 Explanation

Explanation

c: 4 Explanation

Explanation

d: 5 Explanation

Explanation

8. Which statement about linear search on an unsorted array is correct?

a: The array must be sorted before linear search Explanation

Explanation

b: Linear search can be used without sorting the array Explanation

Explanation

c: Linear search always takes

O(1)

time Explanation

Explanation

d: Linear search can inspect only the middle element Explanation

Explanation

9. Suppose an unsorted array contains

N

elements and the target is not present. What is the number of elements that a standard linear search may need to examine?

a: Exactly 1 Explanation

Explanation

b: At most

\log_2(N)

Explanation

c: At most

N

Explanation

d: Exactly

N - 1

Explanation

Unsorted Arrays vs Binary Search