1.

Introduction to Algorithm Analysis

1.1 Complexity Theory

●​ Time Complexity: Measures how runtime grows with input size.

●​ Space Complexity: Measures memory usage relative to input size.
●​ Importance: Helps compare algorithms and optimize performance.

1.2 Asymptotic Notations

●​ Big-O (O): Upper bound (worst-case scenario).

●​ Omega (Ω): Lower bound (best-case scenario).
●​ Theta (Θ): Tight bound (average-case scenario).

2. Arrays, Stacks, and Queues

2.1 Arrays

●​ Definition: Contiguous memory allocation for homogeneous data.

●​ Operations:
○​ Access: O(1) (direct indexing).
○​ Insertion/Deletion: O(n) (shifting required).

2.2 Stacks (LIFO Principle)

●​ Operations:
○​ Push: Insert at top (O(1)).
○​ Pop: Remove from top (O(1)).
○​ Peek: View top element (O(1)).
●​ Applications: Function call stack, undo operations.

2.3 Queues (FIFO Principle)

●​ Operations:
○​ Enqueue: Insert at rear (O(1)).
○​ Dequeue: Remove from front (O(1)).
●​ Variants:
○​ Circular Queue: Efficient space usage.
○​ Priority Queue: Serves highest priority first.

3. Linked Lists

3.1 Singly Linked List

●​ Structure: Nodes with data and next pointer.

●​ Operations:
○​ Insertion:
■​ At head (O(1)).
■​ At tail (O(n)).
○​ Deletion: Similar to insertion.

3.2 Doubly Linked List

●​ Structure: Nodes with prev and next pointers.

●​ Advantage: Bidirectional traversal.
3.3 Circular Linked List

●​ Tail node points back to head.

●​ Applications: Round-robin scheduling.

4. Trees

4.1 Binary Tree

●​ Properties:
○​ Each node has ≤ 2 children.
○​ Maximum nodes at level L = 2^L.
●​ Traversals:
○​ Inorder (LNR): Left → Root → Right.
○​ Preorder (NLR): Root → Left → Right.
○​ Postorder (LRN): Left → Right → Root.

4.2 Binary Search Tree (BST)

●​ Property: Left subtree < Root < Right subtree.

●​ Search: O(log n) (if balanced), O(n) (worst-case).

4.3 AVL Tree (Self-Balancing BST)

●​ Balancing Condition: Height difference ≤ 1.

●​ Rotations: Left, Right, Left-Right, Right-Left.

5. Graphs

5.1 Types of Graphs

●​ Undirected: Edges have no direction (e.g., Facebook friends).

●​ Directed: Edges have direction (e.g., Twitter follows).
●​ Weighted/Unweighted: Edges may have weights.

5.2 Graph Traversals

●​ BFS (Breadth-First Search): Level-order traversal (uses queue).

 ●​ DFS (Depth-First Search): Explores deep paths first (uses stack).

5.4 Minimum Spanning Tree (MST)

●​ Prim’s Algorithm: Greedy approach, grows MST from a start node.

●​ Kruskal’s Algorithm: Uses Union-Find, sorts edges by weight.

6. Sorting & Searching

6.1 Sorting Algorithms

6.2 Searching Algorithms

●​ Linear Search: O(n) (works on unsorted data).

●​ Binary Search: O(log n) (requires sorted data).
●​ Hashing: O(1) average, O(n) worst-case (collisions).
7. C Programming Fundamentals

7.1 Memory Management

●​ Static Allocation: Fixed at compile time (e.g., arrays).

●​ Dynamic Allocation: Runtime allocation (e.g., malloc, free).

7.2 Structures vs. Unions

●​ Structure: Allocates memory for all members.

●​ Union: Shares memory among members (only one active at a time).

MCQS
1. Introduction to Algorithms & Complexity

1.​ What does Big-O notation describe?​

a) Exact runtime of an algorithm​
b) Upper bound of an algorithm's growth rate​
c) Average-case performance​
d) Space complexity only​
Answer: b) Upper bound of an algorithm's growth rate
2.​ An algorithm with complexity O(1) is:​
a) Linear​
b) Constant time​
c) Quadratic​
d) Logarithmic​
Answer: b) Constant time
3.​ The worst-case complexity of Bubble Sort is:​
a) O(n)​
b) O(n log n)​
c) O(n²)​
d) O(2ⁿ)​
Answer: c) O(n²)
4.​ Which notation represents the tightest asymptotic bound?​
a) Big-O​
b) Big-Ω​
c) Big-Θ​
 d) Little-o​
Answer: c) Big-Θ
5.​ Recursive Fibonacci has a complexity of:​
a) O(n)​
b) O(2ⁿ)​
c) O(log n)​
d) O(n²)​
Answer: b) O(2ⁿ)

2. Arrays, Stacks & Queues

6.​ Stack follows which principle?​

a) FIFO​
b) LIFO​
c) Priority-based​
d) Random access​
Answer: b) LIFO
7.​ The operation to remove an element from a queue is called:​
a) Push​
b) Pop​
c) Enqueue​
d) Dequeue​
Answer: d) Dequeue
8.​ In a circular queue, front and rear pointers are equal when:​
a) Queue is full​
b) Queue is empty​
c) Queue has one element​
d) Both a & b​
Answer: d) Both a & b
9.​ Dynamic arrays overcome the limitation of static arrays by:​
a) Allowing resizing​
b) Using linked lists​
c) Reducing access time​
d) Fixed capacity​
Answer: a) Allowing resizing
10.​The postfix expression for A+B*C is:​
a) ABC*+​
b) AB+C*​
c) A*BC+​
 d) +A*BC​
Answer: a) ABC*+

3. Linked Lists

11.​Singly linked list nodes contain:​

a) Data + 2 pointers​
b) Data + 1 pointer​
c) Only data​
d) Only pointers​
Answer: b) Data + 1 pointer
12.​Deleting a node in a doubly linked list requires updating:​
a) 1 pointer​
b) 2 pointers​
c) 3 pointers​
d) No pointers​
Answer: b) 2 pointers
13.​Which operation is O(1) in a linked list with tail pointer?​
a) Insert at head​
b) Insert at tail​
c) Delete from middle​
d) Search​
Answer: b) Insert at tail
14.​Garbage collection is used to:​
a) Allocate memory​
b) Reclaim unused memory​
c) Defragment disks​
d) Sort data​
Answer: b) Reclaim unused memory
15.​A circular linked list’s last node points to:​
a) NULL​
b) Head​
c) Tail​
d) Itself​
Answer: b) Head

4. Trees
 16.​In a binary tree, the maximum number of nodes at level *i* is:​
a) *i*​
b) 2i​
c) 2^i​
d) i²​
Answer: c) 2^i
17.​Postorder traversal of A(B,C) gives:​
a) ABC​
b) BAC​
c) BCA​
d) CBA​
Answer: c) BCA
18.​An AVL tree ensures balance by:​
a) Rotations​
b) Hashing​
c) Randomization​
d) Indexing​
Answer: a) Rotations
19.​B-trees are commonly used in:​
a) Databases​
b) Stacks​
c) Queues​
d) Sorting​
Answer: a) Databases
20.​The height of a BST with *n* nodes can be:​
a) O(log n)​
b) O(n)​
c) Both a & b​
d) O(1)​
Answer: c) Both a & b

5. Graphs

21.​DFS uses which data structure?​

a) Queue​
b) Stack​
c) Heap​
d) Array​
Answer: b) Stack
 22.​Dijkstra’s algorithm solves:​
a) All-pairs shortest path​
b) Single-source shortest path​
c) Minimum spanning tree​
d) Topological sort​
Answer: b) Single-source shortest path
23.​A DAG has:​
a) No cycles​
b) Undirected edges​
c) Self-loops​
d) All of the above​
Answer: a) No cycles
24.​Prim’s algorithm is used for:​
a) Shortest path​
b) Minimum spanning tree​
c) Sorting​
d) Hashing​
Answer: b) Minimum spanning tree
25.​The adjacency matrix of an undirected graph is:​
a) Upper triangular​
b) Symmetric​
c) Diagonal​
d) Sparse​
Answer: b) Symmetric

6. Sorting & Searching

26.​Which sort has O(n log n) worst-case complexity?​

a) QuickSort​
b) MergeSort​
c) BubbleSort​
d) InsertionSort​
Answer: b) MergeSort
27.​HeapSort uses a:​
a) BST​
b) Max-Heap​
c) Queue​
d) Linked list​
Answer: b) Max-Heap
 28.​Binary search requires the input to be:​
a) Unsorted​
b) Sorted​
c) Balanced​
d) Hashed​
Answer: b) Sorted
29.​Hashing collision resolution method:​
a) Chaining​
b) Indexing​
c) Sorting​
d) Traversal​
Answer: a) Chaining
30.​RadixSort sorts based on:​
a) Comparisons​
b) Digits/characters​
c) Randomness​
d) Swaps​
Answer: b) Digits/characters

7. Programming Fundamentals & C Language

31.​Which is a compiled language?​

a) Python​
b) Java​
c) C​
d) JavaScript​
Answer: c) C
32.​int *ptr declares:​
a) An integer​
b) A pointer to integer​
c) An array​
d) A function​
Answer: b) A pointer to integer
33.​Dynamic memory allocation in C uses:​
a) malloc()​
b) alloc()​
c) new​
d) create()​
Answer: a) malloc()
 34.​A struct in C can contain:​
a) Only variables​
b) Variables and functions​
c) Only functions​
d) Pointers only​
Answer: a) Only variables
35.​The scope of a static variable is:​
a) Local to block​
b) Global​
c) File-level​
d) Temporary​
Answer: c) File-level

7. Programming Fundamentals & C Language (Continued)

36.​Which of the following is NOT a valid storage class in C?​

a) auto​
b) extern​
c) dynamic​
d) static​
Answer: c) dynamic
37.​The volatile keyword in C is used to:​
a) Optimize variable access​
b) Indicate a variable may change unexpectedly​
c) Allocate memory dynamically​
d) Declare constants​
Answer: b) Indicate a variable may change unexpectedly
38.​What is the output of printf("%d", sizeof('A')); in C?​
a) 1​
b) 2​
c) 4​
d) Compiler-dependent​
Answer: c) 4 (in C, characters are promoted to int)
39.​Which operator is used to access a structure member via pointer?​
a) .​
b) ->​
c) ::​
d) *​
Answer: b) ->
40.​The #define directive is processed by the:​
a) Compiler​
b) Linker​
 c) Preprocessor​
d) Interpreter​
Answer: c) Preprocessor

8. Linked Lists (Advanced)

41.​To reverse a singly linked list iteratively, you need:​

a) 1 pointer​
b) 2 pointers​
c) 3 pointers​
d) No pointers​
Answer: c) 3 pointers (prev, current, next)
42.​A circular linked list is primarily used for:​
a) Random access​
b) Implementing queues​
c) Memory efficiency​
d) Recursive algorithms​
Answer: b) Implementing queues
43.​Deleting a node in a singly linked list with only its pointer is:​
a) O(1)​
b) O(n)​
c) Not possible​
d) Requires a doubly linked list​
Answer: c) Not possible (without previous node)
44.​Which list uses a "dummy node" to simplify edge cases?​
a) Singly linked​
b) Doubly linked​
c) Circular linked​
d) Sentinel linked​
Answer: d) Sentinel linked
45.​The time complexity to find the middle node in a singly linked list is:​
a) O(1)​
b) O(log n)​
c) O(n)​
d) O(n²)​
Answer: c) O(n) (using slow-fast pointers)

9. Trees (Advanced)
 46.​The worst-case height of an AVL tree with *n* nodes is:​
a) O(1)​
b) O(log n)​
c) O(n)​
d) O(n log n)​
Answer: b) O(log n)
47.​In a B-tree of order *m*, each node has at most:​
a) *m* children​
b) *m-1* keys​
c) Both a & b​
d) *m+1* keys​
Answer: c) Both a & b
48.​A B+ tree differs from a B-tree in that:​
a) All data is stored in leaves​
b) Internal nodes store keys only​
c) Supports range queries efficiently​
d) All of the above​
Answer: d) All of the above
49.​Threaded binary trees are used to:​
a) Replace pointers with threads​
b) Enable inorder traversal without recursion/stack​
c) Reduce memory usage​
d) All of the above​
Answer: d) All of the above
50.​The inorder successor of a node in a BST is the:​
a) Smallest node in the right subtree​
b) Largest node in the left subtree​
c) Parent node​
d) Root node​
Answer: a) Smallest node in the right subtree

10. Graphs (Advanced)

51.​Kruskal’s algorithm uses which data structure?​

a) Queue​
b) Stack​
c) Priority queue​
d) Disjoint set (Union-Find)​
Answer: d) Disjoint set
 52.​Topological sorting is applicable only to:​
a) Undirected graphs​
b) Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs)​
c) Weighted graphs​
d) Complete graphs​
Answer: b) Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs)
53.​The time complexity of Floyd-Warshall (all-pairs shortest path) is:​
a) O(n)​
b) O(n log n)​
c) O(n²)​
d) O(n³)​
Answer: d) O(n³)
54.​A graph with *n* vertices and *n-1* edges is a:​
a) Complete graph​
b) Tree​
c) Cyclic graph​
d) Disconnected graph​
Answer: b) Tree
55.​Bellman-Ford algorithm handles graphs with:​
a) Only positive weights​
b) Negative weights but no negative cycles​
c) Negative cycles​
d) Unweighted edges​
Answer: b) Negative weights but no negative cycles

11. Sorting & Searching (Advanced)

56.​Which sorting algorithm is stable?​

a) QuickSort​
b) HeapSort​
c) MergeSort​
d) SelectionSort​
Answer: c) MergeSort
57.​The best-case time complexity of QuickSort is:​
a) O(n)​
b) O(n log n)​
c) O(n²)​
d) O(log n)​
Answer: b) O(n log n)
 58.​External sorting is used when data is too large to fit in:​
a) CPU cache​
b) RAM​
c) Hard disk​
d) Network​
Answer: b) RAM
59.​The worst-case time complexity of binary search is:​
a) O(1)​
b) O(log n)​
c) O(n)​
d) O(n log n)​
Answer: b) O(log n)
60.​A hash function should minimize:​
a) Collisions​
b) Memory usage​
c) Computation time​
d) All of the above​
Answer: d) All of the above

12. C Language (Advanced)

61.​What is the output of printf("%d", 5 >> 1);?​

a) 2​
b) 3​
c) 10​
d) 20​
Answer: a) 2 (right shift divides by 2)
62.​The restrict keyword in C is used to:​
a) Optimize pointer aliasing​
b) Allocate memory​
c) Declare constants​
d) Define macros​
Answer: a) Optimize pointer aliasing
63.​Which is NOT a valid file opening mode in C?​
a) "r+"​
b) "wb"​
c) "a+"​
d) "xs"​
Answer: d) "xs"
64.​The typedef keyword is used to:​
a) Define new data types​
b) Allocate memory​
c) Declare variables​
d) Include headers​
Answer: a) Define new data types
65.​Which of the following is a dangling pointer?​
a) Pointer to a freed memory location​
b) Uninitialized pointer​
c) NULL pointer​
d) Pointer to a static variable​
Answer: a) Pointer to a freed memory location
66.​What is the output of printf("%d", sizeof("A")); in C?​
a) 1​
b) 2​
c) 4​
d) Compiler-dependent​
Answer: b) 2​
Explanation: The string literal "A" includes the null terminator (\0), making its
size 2 bytes.
67.​The restrict keyword in C is used to:​
a) Optimize pointer aliasing​
b) Allocate memory​
c) Declare constants​
d) Define macros​
Answer: a) Optimize pointer aliasing​
Explanation: It tells the compiler that a pointer is the only reference to the
data, enabling optimizations.
68.​Which is NOT a valid file opening mode in C?​
a) "r+"​
b) "wb"​
c) "a+"​
d) "xs"​
Answer: d) "xs"​
Explanation: Valid modes include "r", "w", "a", "r+", "w+", "a+", and their
binary variants ("b").
69.​The typedef keyword is used to:​
a) Define new data types​
b) Allocate memory​
c) Declare variables​
d) Include headers​
 Answer: a) Define new data types​
Explanation: Example: typedef int myInt; creates an alias for int.
70.​What does #pragma once do?​
a) Includes a header file once​
b) Optimizes loops​
c) Allocates memory​
d) Defines inline functions​
Answer: a) Includes a header file once​
Explanation: Prevents multiple inclusions of the same header file.

13. Advanced Data Structures & Algorithms

71.​In a B-tree of order 5, each node (except root) must have:​

a) At least 2 keys​
b) At least 3 keys​
c) At most 4 keys​
d) Both a and c​
Answer: d) Both a and c​
Explanation: Order *m* implies min keys = ⌈*m*/2⌉ - 1 (2), max keys = *m*-1
(4).
72.​The worst-case time complexity to delete a node from an AVL tree is:​
a) O(1)​
b) O(log n)​
c) O(n)​
d) O(n log n)​
Answer: b) O(log n)​
Explanation: AVL trees maintain balance through rotations, ensuring
logarithmic height.
73.​Which graph algorithm uses a greedy approach?​
a) Dijkstra’s​
b) Floyd-Warshall​
c) Bellman-Ford​
d) BFS​
Answer: a) Dijkstra’s​
Explanation: It greedily selects the shortest path at each step.
74.​A hash table with chaining resolves collisions using:​
a) Linked lists​
b) Rehashing​
c) Open addressing​
d) Binary trees​
 Answer: a) Linked lists​
Explanation: Colliding elements are stored in a linked list at the same bucket.
75.​The time complexity of HeapSort is:​
a) O(n)​
b) O(n log n)​
c) O(n²)​
d) O(log n)​
Answer: b) O(n log n)​
Explanation: Building the heap takes O(n), and each extraction takes O(log n).

14. C Programming (Memory & Pointers)

76.​What is the output of printf("%d", sizeof(int(*)[5]));?​

a) Size of an integer​
b) Size of a pointer​
c) Size of an array of 5 integers​
d) Compiler-dependent​
Answer: b) Size of a pointer​
Explanation: int(*)[5] is a pointer to an array of 5 integers, so it prints the
pointer size (e.g., 8 bytes on 64-bit).
77.​Which of the following is a memory leak?​
a) Forgetting to free malloced memory​
b) Accessing freed memory​
c) Using uninitialized pointers​
d) All of the above​
Answer: a) Forgetting to free malloced memory​
Explanation: Memory leaks occur when dynamically allocated memory is not
released.
78.​The volatile keyword is used when a variable:​
a) Is constant​
b) May change unexpectedly (e.g., by hardware)​
c) Is large in size​
d) Is shared across threads​
Answer: b) May change unexpectedly​
Explanation: Prevents compiler optimizations that assume variable stability.
79.​What is the output of printf("%p", NULL);?​
a) 0​
b) Garbage value​
c) Segmentation fault​
d) Depends on the system​
 Answer: a) 0​
Explanation: NULL is typically defined as (void*)0.
80.​Which is true about realloc?​
a) It can extend or shrink memory blocks​
b) It always moves the memory block​
c) It initializes new memory to zero​
d) It cannot fail​
Answer: a) It can extend or shrink memory blocks​
Explanation: realloc adjusts the size of the allocated memory dynamically.

15. Advanced Algorithms

81.​The space complexity of MergeSort is:​

a) O(1)​
b) O(log n)​
c) O(n)​
d) O(n²)​
Answer: c) O(n)​
Explanation: Requires auxiliary space for merging subarrays.
82.​Which sorting algorithm is in-place and stable?​
a) QuickSort​
b) MergeSort​
c) BubbleSort​
d) HeapSort​
Answer: c) BubbleSort​
Explanation: In-place (O(1) space) and stable (equal elements retain order).
83.​RadixSort is most efficient when:​
a) Keys are uniformly distributed​
b) Keys are small integers​
c) The dataset is small​
d) The data is almost sorted​
Answer: b) Keys are small integers​
Explanation: Sorts digit-by-digit, ideal for fixed-size keys.
84.​The worst-case time complexity of QuickSort occurs when the pivot is always
the:​
a) Median​
b) Smallest element​
c) Largest element​
d) Random element​
 Answer: b) Smallest element​
Explanation: Leads to unbalanced partitions (O(n²) time).
85.​Which data structure is used in Huffman coding?​
a) Stack​
b) Queue​
c) Priority queue​
d) Linked list​
Answer: c) Priority queue​
Explanation: Used to greedily select the least frequent nodes.

16. Graph Theory

86.​Kruskal’s algorithm for MST uses:​

a) BFS​
b) Union-Find​
c) DFS​
d) Topological sort​
Answer: b) Union-Find​
Explanation: Efficiently checks for cycles while adding edges.
87.​The all-pairs shortest path problem can be solved by:​
a) Dijkstra’s (run for each node)​
b) Floyd-Warshall​
c) Both a and b​
d) Prim’s algorithm​
Answer: c) Both a and b​
Explanation: Dijkstra’s (O(n² log n)) for sparse graphs, Floyd-Warshall (O(n³))
for dense graphs.
88.​Topological sorting is possible only for:​
a) Trees​
b) Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs)​
c) Undirected graphs​
d) Complete graphs​
Answer: b) Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs)​
Explanation: Requires no cycles to define a linear order.
89.​The time complexity of BFS on a graph with V vertices and E edges is:​
a) O(V)​
b) O(E)​
c) O(V + E)​
d) O(V log E)​
 Answer: c) O(V + E)​
Explanation: Visits each node and edge once.
90.​A graph with *n* vertices and *n*(*n*-1)/2 edges is a:​
a) Tree​
b) Complete graph​
c) Bipartite graph​
d) Disconnected graph​
Answer: b) Complete graph​
Explanation: Every pair of vertices is connected.

17. Final Mixed Questions

91.​Which is true about static functions in C?​

a) They can be accessed globally​
b) They are visible only within their file​
c) They retain state between calls​
d) They cannot return values​
Answer: b) They are visible only within their file​
Explanation: Limits scope to the translation unit.
92.​The strtok function in C is used to:​
a) Concatenate strings​
b) Compare strings​
c) Tokenize strings​
d) Copy strings​
Answer: c) Tokenize strings​
Explanation: Splits a string into tokens based on delimiters.
93.​Which is NOT a valid way to pass an array to a function in C?​
a) void func(int arr[])​
b) void func(int *arr)​
c) void func(int arr[10])​
d) void func(int arr)​
Answer: d) void func(int arr)​
Explanation: This passes a single integer, not an array.
94.​The exit() function is declared in which header?​
a) <stdio.h>​
b) <stdlib.h>​
c) <math.h>​
d) <string.h>​
Answer: b) <stdlib.h>​
Explanation: Also includes malloc, free, etc.
95.​What is the output of printf("%d", ~0);?​
a) 0​
b) -1​
c) 1​
d) Implementation-defined​
Answer: b) -1​
Explanation: Bitwise NOT of 0 flips all bits, resulting in -1 in two’s complement.
96.​Which is true about memcpy vs memmove?​
a) memcpy is faster but undefined for overlapping regions​
b) memmove is slower but handles overlaps​
c) Both a and b​
d) They are identical​
Answer: c) Both a and b​
Explanation: memmove checks for overlap and copies safely.
97.​The const keyword in C:​
a) Makes a variable constant​
b) Prevents modification of a variable​
c) Both a and b​
d) Only applies to pointers​
Answer: b) Prevents modification of a variable​
Explanation: const int x = 5; means x cannot be modified.
98.​Which is true about fprintf?​
a) Writes to a file​
b) Formats output like printf​
c) Both a and b​
d) Only works with stdout​
Answer: c) Both a and b​
Explanation: fprintf(file, format, ...) writes formatted text to a file.
99.​The sizeof operator returns the size in:​
a) Bits​
b) Bytes​
c) Words​
d) Depends on the system​
Answer: b) Bytes​
Explanation: sizeof(int) typically returns 4 (bytes).
100.​ Which is true about #pragma pack(1)?​
a) Disables struct padding​
b) Aligns data to 1-byte boundaries​
c) Both a and b​
d) Only applies to arrays​
Answer: c) Both a and b​
Explanation: Forces tight packing of structs, reducing memory usage but
potentially slowing access.