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

Practice Questions

Q1
What is the worst-case scenario for the number of comparisons in binary search on an array of size n?
  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 on an array of size n?
  • Step 1: Understand what binary search is. It is a method to find a target value 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 equal to the target, the search is complete.
  • Step 4: If the target is less than the middle element, the search continues in the left half of the array.
  • Step 5: If the target is greater than the middle element, the search continues in the right half of the array.
  • Step 6: Each time the search interval is halved, which reduces the number of elements to search.
  • Step 7: The worst-case scenario occurs when the target is not found or is at one of the ends of the search.
  • Step 8: The number of times you can halve the array until you reach one element is log base 2 of n (written as log n).
  • Step 9: Therefore, in the worst case, binary search makes log n comparisons.
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