Question

Bubble sort (on an array) N items. This has a worst-case time complexity of...

a. O(1)
b. O(log N)
c. O(N)
d. O(N²)

Answer 1

The worst-case time complexity of Bubble sort for sorting an array of N items is O(N²). This reflects the number of comparisons needed, which is quadratic in the worst-case scenario where each element must be compared to every other element.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student has asked about the worst-case time complexity of a Bubble sort algorithm when sorting an array of N items. The correct answer to this question is O(N²), which is reflective of the worst-case scenario where the algorithm would need to compare each element with every other element, resulting in a quadratic number of comparisons.

Furthermore, in terms of sorting algorithms, the worst-case time complexity of Bubble sort is typically less efficient compared to other more sophisticated sorting algorithms like quicksort or mergesort. However, it is a relatively simple algorithm to understand and implement, which can also perform well on small datasets or datasets that are already nearly sorted.