GATE CS 2015 Set 2 — Question 16
Go beyond PYQs with Success TrackerAI-powered personalised practice and doubt support. Unlimited practice on eligible plans; AI usage limits apply.MCQ+1 / -0.33MediumSelection (Order Statistics)SearchingAlgorithms
Algorithms → Searching → Selection (Order Statistics)
Last updated
Question
An unordered list contains distinct elements. The number of comparisons to find an element in this list that is neither maximum nor minimum is
Correct answer
(D) Θ(1)
Solution
We only need some element that is neither the maximum nor the minimum; we do not need to find the actual max or min of the whole list.Take any three elements of the list, say (all distinct). Among three distinct numbers, the middle one (the median of the three) is smaller than one of them and larger than another, so it can be neither the maximum nor the minimum of the whole list.Finding the median of three numbers takes at most 3 comparisons, independent of . Hence the number of comparisons is .
- (A) : that is the cost of sorting, which is unnecessary.
- (B) : that is the cost of finding the actual max or min, also unnecessary.
- (C) : no dependence on is needed at all.
- (D) : correct.
Continue learning with Success Tracker
A step still unclear? Work through it with support
Use Success Tracker to ask about the reasoning, then try another GATE CS question to check your understanding.
AI-powered practice· Unlimited practice on eligible plans
- PYQs with solutions
- Attempt available previous-year questions, then compare your reasoning with the worked solution. Coverage varies by stream.
- Practice that adapts
- Choose a topic, work on weaker areas and bookmark questions to revisit. Your attempts feed your progress tracking.
- AI doubt support
- Ask follow-up questions about a step or concept while practising, instead of stopping at the final answer.
Unlimited practice is available on eligible plans. Free practice and AI usage have limits; check the current plan allowances before choosing.
This page stays readable without an account. AI responses can be wrong; check them against the solution and source material.
More questions on Searching
2026 Set 1 Q17Consider the following recurrence relations: For all ,…2026 Set 2 Q24Consider the following functions, where is a positive integer.…2026 Set 2 Q25Which of the following can be recurrence relation(s) corresponding to an algorithm with time…2026 Set 2 Q32Consider an array . Suppose the merge sort algorithm is…2026 Set 2 Q37Let be a weighted directed acyclic graph with edges and vertices. Given and a…