Question

Consider a STACK implemented with an array and containing N elements. The POP operation has worst-case time complexity of...

a. O(1)
b. O(log N)
c. O(N)
d. O(N²)

Answer 1

The POP operation in a stack implemented with an array has a worst-case time complexity of O(1) because it involves removing the top element, which is a direct operation taking constant time.

Step-by-step explanation:

A stack is a data structure in computer science that follows the Last In, First Out (LIFO) principle. When implementing a stack using an array, the POP operation, which is used to remove the top element from the stack, has a worst-case time complexity of O(1).

The reason for this is that in a stack, the 'top' element is known, and no other elements need to be traversed or moved. When an element is popped, it is simply removed from the top of the stack, which is a direct operation that takes a constant amount of time irrespective of the number of elements in the stack.

Hence, the correct answer for the worst-case time complexity of a POP operation in a stack implemented with an array is O(1).