Final answer:
O(N³) is the time complexity that is worse than O(N²) because it represents cubic growth which is faster than the quadratic growth of O(N²).
Step-by-step explanation:
The time complexity that is theoretically worse than O(N²) is O(N³). When comparing time complexities, we look at the rate of growth of the function as N approaches infinity. The bigger the power of N, the faster the growth, and thus the worse the time complexity. Therefore:
- O(N) grows linearly and is better than O(N²).
- O(log N) grows logarithmically and is much better than O(N²).
- O(N³) grows at a cubic rate and is significantly worse than O(N²).
- O(1) represents constant time and is the best among the given options.
In conclusion, among the given options, O(N³) represents a time complexity that is worse than O(N²).