What is the time complexity of finding the smallest element in an unsorted array? a) O(1) b) O(log n) c) O(n) d) O(n log n)
Understand the Problem
The question is asking for the time complexity involved in finding the smallest element in an unsorted array. The focus is on understanding how the time taken to perform this operation scales with the size of the array.
Answer
O(n)
The final answer is O(n)
Answer for screen readers
The final answer is O(n)
More Information
To find the smallest element in an unsorted array, one typically has to check each element at least once. This results in a linear time complexity of O(n) because each of the n elements must be inspected to ensure that none is smaller than the smallest found.
Tips
A common mistake is to think that more complex algorithms like divide and conquer could reduce time complexity below O(n), but each element must be evaluated to guarantee the smallest is found in an unsorted array.
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