Algorithms quiz

More questions about Algorithms

These visible examples show the question style. LearnClash turns the full topic into ranked duels and spaced repetition.

1. 1 Easy

   Whose name gave us the word 'algorithm'?

   Answer: Al-Khwarizmi

   Why: The 'th' is a later twist: in the 15th century the Greek word arithmos, 'number', reshaped the Latin algorismus into algorithmus.

2. 2 Medium

   How few comparisons can find the largest of 100 numbers?

   Answer: 99

   Why: Every number except the winner must lose at least one comparison, just as a 100-player knockout needs 99 matches.

3. 3 Hard

   How slow can quicksort get in its worst case?

   Answer: $O(n^2)$

   Why: The worst case strikes when every pivot is the smallest or largest item, such as a first-item pivot on a list that is already sorted.

4. 4 Easy

   What error does recursion without a stopping point cause?

   Answer: Stack overflow

   Why: Every unfinished call keeps its own data on the call stack, and that stack has a limited amount of space that endless calls eventually fill.

5. 5 Medium

   What starting value fixes every number a pseudorandom generator makes?

   Answer: Seed

   Why: Minecraft relies on this: the same world seed builds the same terrain, until an update changes how worlds are generated.

6. 6 Hard

   Which problem asks if every quickly checked answer can be quickly found?

   Answer: P versus NP

   Why: It is one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems, and a correct solution would win one million US dollars.