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C Programming · Round 1
Question 2 of 10
Topic: OperatorsDifficulty: HardBloom: Analyze
Question
What is the time complexity of a linear search over an array, and why?
Result
Knowledge
55%
Delivery
82%
Technical relevancy
60%
Technical term match
50%
Your recording
Your transcript
Um, linear search is O(n) because you go through the array one by one. Worst case you check everything. I don't really remember the best case though.
Better answer
Linear search inspects each element until it finds the target or exhausts the array, so worst-case and average-case complexity is O(n) and best-case (target at index 0) is O(1). Space is O(1). It's the right choice on unsorted data or very small arrays where cache locality dominates.
Coverage
Hit 2 of 4- States worst-case O(n)
- Mentions best-case O(1)
- Notes O(1) auxiliary space
- Justifies why each element must be checked
Gaps
- Did not state best-case complexity
Misconceptions
- Confused average-case with worst-case