Sorting Algorithms Questions Medium
Bubble sort, selection sort, and insertion sort are all comparison-based sorting algorithms, but they differ in terms of their time complexities.
Bubble sort has a time complexity of O(n^2) in the worst and average cases. This means that as the number of elements (n) increases, the time taken to sort the elements increases quadratically. Bubble sort repeatedly compares adjacent elements and swaps them if they are in the wrong order, iterating through the list multiple times until it is sorted.
Selection sort also has a time complexity of O(n^2) in the worst and average cases. It works by repeatedly finding the minimum element from the unsorted part of the list and swapping it with the first unsorted element. This process is repeated until the entire list is sorted. Similar to bubble sort, selection sort requires multiple iterations through the list, resulting in a quadratic time complexity.
Insertion sort has a time complexity of O(n^2) in the worst and average cases as well. It works by dividing the list into a sorted and an unsorted part. It iterates through the unsorted part, comparing each element with the elements in the sorted part and inserting it into the correct position. Although insertion sort can be more efficient than bubble sort and selection sort for small input sizes or partially sorted lists, it still has a quadratic time complexity due to the nested loops involved.
In summary, all three sorting algorithms (bubble sort, selection sort, and insertion sort) have the same time complexity of O(n^2) in the worst and average cases. However, it is important to note that there are other sorting algorithms, such as merge sort or quicksort, which have better time complexities and are more efficient for larger input sizes.