What is the worst case time complexity of merge sort?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking about the worst-case time complexity of the merge sort algorithm. Merge sort is a divide-and-conquer algorithm that divides the input array into two halves, recursively sorts them, and then merges the sorted halves. The worst-case time complexity occurs when the algorithm has to process all elements, which is commonly known to be O(n log n).
Answer
O(n log n)
The final answer is O(n log n)
Answer for screen readers
The final answer is O(n log n)
More Information
Merge sort consistently performs at O(n log n) in the worst, average, and best cases, making it a reliable sorting algorithm with predictable performance.
Tips
A common mistake is to confuse the space complexity of merge sort with its time complexity. Ensure to distinguish between the two when analyzing.
Sources
- Time and Space Complexity Analysis of Merge Sort - GeeksforGeeks - geeksforgeeks.org
- What is the Time Complexity of Merge Sort? - Scaler Topics - scaler.com
- Worst Case of Merge Sort - OpenGenus IQ - iq.opengenus.org
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