Final answer:
After the nth pass of selection sort, n items are sorted in their correct position in the array. This sequence continues with each pass, ensuring that the first n items are the n smallest elements sorted in ascending order.
Step-by-step explanation:
After the nth pass of selection sort, n items are sorted. This means that if you have completed the nth pass in a selection sort algorithm, you will have the first n items in the array sorted into their correct positions. The selection sort algorithm sorts an array by repeatedly finding the minimum element from the unsorted part and moving it to the beginning.
After the first pass, the smallest element is guaranteed to be in the first position, after the second pass, the two smallest elements will be in the first two positions, and so on. Therefore, after the nth pass, the n smallest elements will be sorted in the first n positions of the array, assuming that sorting is done in ascending order.