What is the worst-case scenario for the number of comparisons in binary search?

Practice Questions

Q1
What is the worst-case scenario for the number of comparisons in binary search?
  1. n
  2. log n
  3. n log n
  4. 1

Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions

What is the worst-case scenario for the number of comparisons in binary 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: Know that binary search starts by comparing the target value to the middle element of the array.
  • Step 3: If the middle element is not the target, the search continues in the half of the array where the target could be.
  • Step 4: Each time you divide the array, the number of elements to search through is halved.
  • Step 5: The process continues until the target is found or the search interval is empty.
  • Step 6: The worst-case scenario occurs when the target is not in the array or is found at the last possible comparison.
  • Step 7: The number of times you can halve the array is determined by the logarithm base 2 of the number of elements, which is log n.
  • Step 8: Therefore, in the worst case, binary search will make log n comparisons.
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