What is the space complexity of a recursive function that uses stack space?

Practice Questions

Q1
What is the space complexity of a recursive function that uses stack space?
  1. O(1)
  2. O(n)
  3. O(log n)
  4. O(n^2)

Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions

What is the space complexity of a recursive function that uses stack space?
  • Step 1: Understand what space complexity means. It refers to the amount of memory space required by an algorithm as a function of the input size.
  • Step 2: Recognize that a recursive function calls itself multiple times. Each time it calls itself, it uses some memory space.
  • Step 3: Identify that each recursive call adds a new layer to the call stack. This stack keeps track of all the active function calls.
  • Step 4: Determine how many times the function can call itself before reaching a base case. This is usually related to the size of the input, n.
  • Step 5: Conclude that if the function can call itself n times, the total stack space used will be proportional to n.
  • Step 6: Therefore, the space complexity of the recursive function is O(n), where n is the maximum depth of the recursion.
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