GATE CS 2020 Set 1 — Question 26
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Algorithms → Asymptotic Analysis → Best, Worst, Average Case
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Question
What is the worst case time complexity of inserting elements into an empty linked list, if the linked list needs to be maintained in sorted order?
Correct answer
(C) Θ(n²)
Solution
To keep the linked list sorted, each insertion has to walk the list to find where the new element goes. Linking it in after that takes .In the worst case, every new element is larger than all elements already in the list, for example when the input arrives in increasing order. The -th insertion then traverses all existing nodes. The total work isA linked list allows no binary search, so this cannot be reduced to . and are too small, because the worst case needs quadratically many comparisons.Answer: (C)
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