In which scenario would binary search be preferred over linear search?
Practice Questions
Q1
In which scenario would binary search be preferred over linear search?
When the array is small
When the array is unsorted
When the array is large and sorted
When searching for multiple elements
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
In which scenario would binary search be preferred over linear search?
Step 1: Understand what binary search is. It is a method to find an item in a sorted array by repeatedly dividing the search interval in half.
Step 2: Understand what linear search is. It is a method to find an item by checking each element one by one from the start to the end of the array.
Step 3: Know that binary search requires the array to be sorted. If the array is not sorted, binary search cannot be used.
Step 4: Recognize that binary search is faster than linear search for large sorted arrays because it reduces the number of comparisons needed to find the item.
Step 5: Conclude that if you have a large sorted array, you should use binary search instead of linear search for better efficiency.