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Data Structures & Algorithms Flashcards

7 cards from real CPA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Data Structures & Algorithms flashcards as text

  1. What property must every node in a max-heap satisfy?

    Answer: Its value is greater than or equal to its children's values

    In a max-heap, each parent node's value must be greater than or equal to the values of its children.

  2. Which sorting algorithm has the best average-case performance of O(n log n) and is commonly used in standard library implementations?

    Answer: Quick sort

    Quick sort achieves O(n log n) average-case and is favored in practice due to cache efficiency and low constant factors.

  3. In graph theory, a graph with no cycles is called a:

    Answer: Acyclic graph

    An acyclic graph contains no cycles; a directed acyclic graph (DAG) is a common special case.

  4. What does the 'amortized' cost concept mean in algorithm analysis?

    Answer: The average cost per operation over a sequence of operations

    Amortized analysis spreads the total cost of a sequence of operations over all operations to give an average per-operation cost.

  5. Which data structure is most appropriate for implementing a browser's back-navigation history?

    Answer: Stack

    A stack's LIFO property naturally models back navigation — the last page visited is the first retrieved.

  6. The time complexity of accessing an element by index in a dynamic array (ArrayList) is:

    Answer: O(1)

    Dynamic arrays store elements contiguously, so index-based access requires only a single memory address calculation, giving O(1).

  7. Which of the following is a stable sorting algorithm?

    Answer: Merge sort

    Merge sort preserves the relative order of equal elements, making it a stable sorting algorithm.