What is the time complexity of searching for an item in a list? a) O(1) b) O(n) c) O(n^2) d) O(log n)
Understand the Problem
The question is asking for the time complexity associated with searching for an item in a list. It requires knowledge of data structures and algorithms to determine how the time required to find an item in a list scales with the number of items in the list, based on the provided options.
Answer
O(n)
The time complexity of searching for an item in an unsorted list using linear search is O(n).
Answer for screen readers
The time complexity of searching for an item in an unsorted list using linear search is O(n).
More Information
In an unsorted list, searching for an item requires checking each element until the item is found or the list is exhausted. This results in a time complexity of O(n) as it potentially involves examining every element.
Tips
A common mistake is confusing linear search with binary search, which is only efficient on sorted arrays. Linear search always results in O(n) time complexity for arbitrary lists.
Sources
- Time Complexity of Linear Search - Codecademy - codecademy.com
