Question

Consider the following array: int[] a = { 3, 5, 2, 2, 4, 7, 0, 8, 9, 4 }; What are the contents of the array a after the following loops complete? (show how you arrive at the answer)

a) for (int i = 1; i < 10; i++) { a[i] = a[i - 1];

b) for (int i = 9; i > 0; i--) { a[i] = a[i - 1]; }

Answer 1

The content of the array becomes {3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3} after the execution of the two given loops, as each element takes on the value of its predecessor.

Step-by-step explanation:

When considering the array int[] a = { 3, 5, 2, 2, 4, 7, 0, 8, 9, 4 }, two different loops modify the contents:

1. In loop a, for each element from index 1 to 9, it assigns the value of the previous element. Therefore, after the first loop, the array becomes {3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3}, because each element takes the value of its predecessor, starting with the second element.
2. In loop b, the loop is moving backwards, swapping each element from index 9 to 1 with its predecessor. However, since the array was already modified by the first loop to have all elements the same, looping in reverse does not change the contents of the array any further, leaving the final array as {3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3}.