Introduction to Algorithms Quiz

What is an algorithm?

• A type of computer hardware

• A programming language

• A random sequence of operations

• A well-defined computational procedure

What does the efficiency of an algorithm refer to?

• The amount of memory it uses

• The speed at which it runs

• The resources of time and space it uses

• The complexity of its code

Which sorting algorithm typically runs faster for small input sizes?

• Merge sort

• Quick sort

• Bubble sort

• Insertion sort

What is the worst-case running time of insertion sort?

• O(n^2)

• O(n log n)

• O(n)

• O(log n)

In the RAM model, what does each instruction or data access take?

• A constant amount of time

• A variable amount of time

• An infinite amount of time

• No time at all

What is the primary operation of the merge sort algorithm?

• Finding the maximum element

• Sorting the array in place

• Dividing the array into two halves

• Merging two sorted subarrays

What is the best-case scenario for insertion sort?

• The array is in reverse order

• The array is already sorted

• The array is randomly ordered

• The array contains duplicate values

What does the term 'order of growth' refer to?

• The actual time taken by an algorithm

• The rate at which the running time increases

• The efficiency of hardware used

• The number of lines of code in an algorithm

What is the time complexity of merge sort?

• O(n)

• O(n^2)

• O(n log n)

• O(log n)

What is the purpose of analyzing an algorithm?

• To determine its correctness

• To predict the resources it requires

• To compare it with other algorithms

• To improve its coding style