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

Practice Questions

Q1
What is the space complexity of a recursive function that uses a stack to store function calls?
  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 a stack to store function calls?
  • 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. Each time it calls itself, it adds a new layer to the stack.
  • Step 3: Identify the maximum depth of the recursion. This is how many times the function can call itself before reaching a base case.
  • Step 4: Realize that each function call uses some space in memory (for parameters, local variables, etc.).
  • Step 5: If the maximum depth of recursion is 'n', then the stack will have 'n' function calls at its deepest point.
  • Step 6: Conclude that the space used by the stack is proportional to the maximum depth, which is O(n).
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