Data structures probable questions for

Oral examination

Unit 1 – Searching and Sorting Techniques

1. What is a data structure? Why is it important in programming?

2. Explain the difference between linear search and binary search.

3. How does linear search work? In what scenarios is it most useful?

4. Describe the steps of binary search. What condition must the array satisfy for binary search to
work?

5. What is hashing? Why is it used in data structures?

6. Can you describe a hashing function? What are some examples?

7. What is a collision in hashing? Why do collisions occur?

8. Explain open hashing. How does it handle collisions?

9. Explain closed hashing. How is it different from open hashing?

10. What is sorting? Why do we need sorting algorithms?

11. Describe how bubble sort works. What is its time complexity?

12. What are the advantages and disadvantages of bubble sort?

13. Explain the process of selection sort. How does it differ from bubble sort?

14. Describe the time complexity of selection sort. When is it most efficient?

15. What is insertion sort? How does it work?

16. How does insertion sort perform compared to selection sort and bubble sort?

17. Explain the concept behind merge sort.

18. Describe the steps in the merge sort algorithm.

19. What is the time complexity of merge sort? Why is it more efficient than bubble sort?
20. Explain the concept of quick sort. How does it work?

21. Describe the role of the pivot element in quick sort.

22. What is the average and worst-case time complexity of quick sort?

23. When would you choose quick sort over merge sort?

24. How does merge sort achieve its sorting compared to quick sort?

25. Can you compare the space complexities of bubble sort, quick sort, and merge sort?

Unit 2 – Stack and Queues

26. Define a stack. What are its main operations?

27. What is the LIFO (Last In, First Out) principle? How does it apply to stacks?

28. Explain how a stack can be implemented using an array.

29. What is a stack overflow? When does it occur?

30. What are some real-life applications of stacks?

31. Describe the process of pushing an element onto a stack.

32. Describe the process of popping an element from a stack.

33. What is a queue? How does it differ from a stack?

34. What is the FIFO (First In, First Out) principle? How does it apply to queues?

35. How can a queue be implemented using arrays?

36. Explain the operations involved in a simple queue.

37. What is a circular queue? Why might it be used over a simple queue?

38. Describe the operations of a circular queue.

39. What is a dequeue? How does it extend the functionality of a queue?

40. What is a priority queue? How does it differ from a regular queue?

41. Give an example of a real-world application of a priority queue.

42. Describe a scenario where a queue would be more appropriate than a stack.

43. How would you implement a circular queue using an array?

44. What are the key differences between a simple queue and a circular queue?

45. Explain an application of stacks in expression evaluation.

46. How is a stack used in function call management in programming languages?

47. Describe an application where a queue is used in computer science.

48. Explain how a stack could be used to reverse a string.

49. How could a queue be used in an operating system for task scheduling?

50. What are the main differences between stack and queue data structures?

Unit 3: Linked Lists

1. What is a singly-linked list, and how is it represented in memory?

2. Describe the structure of a node in a singly-linked list.

3. Explain how to traverse a singly-linked list.

4. How does searching in a singly-linked list work? Describe the process.

5. Explain the steps for inserting a node at the beginning of a singly-linked list.

6. How would you insert a node at the end of a singly-linked list?

7. Describe how to insert a node at a specific position in a singly-linked list.

8. Explain the deletion of the first node in a singly-linked list.

9. How would you delete the last node of a singly-linked list?

10. Describe the steps involved in deleting a node at a specific position in a singly-linked list.

11. How can you search for a specific value in a singly-linked list?

12. What are the primary advantages and disadvantages of linked lists over arrays?

13. Explain the concept of linked representation of a stack.

14. Describe the operations on a stack represented using a linked list.

15. How does a queue operate when represented using a linked list?

16. What are the advantages of using a linked list to implement a queue?

17. Explain the differences between singly-linked and doubly-linked lists.

18. Describe how a node in a doubly-linked list differs from a node in a singly-linked list.

19. How would you traverse a doubly-linked list in reverse order?

20. What is a circular singly-linked list?

21. How does the last node in a circular singly-linked list differ from that in a regular singly-
linked list?

22. Explain how insertion at the beginning of a circular singly-linked list works.

23. Describe the process of inserting a node at the end of a circular singly-linked list.

24. How would you delete a node from a circular singly-linked list?

25. What are some practical applications of linked lists?

Unit 4: Trees

26. Define a tree in data structures. How does it differ from a linked list?

27. What is the root of a tree, and how many roots can a tree have?

28. Explain the concept of a leaf node in a tree.

29. What are siblings in a tree structure?

30. Define a binary tree. How does it differ from a general tree?

31. What is the height of a binary tree?

32. Explain the properties of a complete binary tree.

33. What is a full binary tree, and how does it differ from a complete binary tree?

34. Describe the structure and usage of a binary search tree (BST).

35. How do you insert a node in a binary search tree?

36. Explain the process of searching for a value in a binary search tree.

37. Describe the algorithm for deleting a node from a binary search tree.

38. What is meant by "tree traversal," and why is it necessary?

39. Describe the in-order traversal of a binary tree.

40. What is pre-order traversal, and where is it commonly used?

41. Explain the post-order traversal of a binary tree.

42. Describe the algorithm for level-order traversal of a binary tree.

43. What is the process for constructing a binary tree given its in-order and pre-order traversals?

Unit 4: Graphs

44. Define a graph in data structures. What are vertices and edges?

45. What is the difference between directed and undirected graphs?

46. Explain what a weighted graph is.

47. Describe the adjacency matrix representation of a graph.

48. How does adjacency list representation of a graph differ from an adjacency matrix?

49. What is depth-first search (DFS) in a graph?

50. Explain breadth-first search (BFS) and its applications.