Which of the following has the best worst-case time complexity? a) quick sort b) merge sort c) bubble sort d) insertion sort

Understand the Problem

The question is asking to compare the worst-case time complexities of different sorting algorithms: quick sort, merge sort, bubble sort, and insertion sort. The goal is to identify which of these algorithms has the best performance in the worst-case scenario.

More Information

Merge sort consistently offers a worst-case time complexity of O(N log N), unlike quick sort, whose worst-case complexity can degrade to O(N²).

Tips

A common mistake is to assume quick sort always performs better due to its average case, but merge sort guarantees better consistency in the worst case.

Sources

• Quick Sort vs Merge Sort - GeeksforGeeks - geeksforgeeks.org