Question: We are given an array A with 2n + 1 distinct elements. Suppose that we are using the randomized selection algorithm to find the

We are given an array A with 2n + 1 distinct elements. 

We are given an array A with 2n + 1 distinct elements. Suppose that we are using the randomized selection algorithm to find the median. In a worst-case scenario of this algorithm, the median is found at the very last step, where each step before that gets rid of only one element in the array. How many different worst-case scenarios are there for finding the median in A? Example: Suppose that we have A = [4, 5, 1, 3, 2]. One of the worst-case scenarios is to pick the following elements as the pivots in this order 1, 2, 4, 5. Because (randomly but unluckily) if we pick these numbers in this order as the pivots, we will get rid of only the pivot in each step, and only at the very end (when we have only the element 3 remaining, which is the median of the original input array) we will find the median. The other worst-case scenarios are: 1,5,2,4 1,5,4,2 5,1,4,2 5,1,2,4 5,4,1,2 Activate

Step by Step Solution

3.50 Rating (153 Votes )

There are 3 Steps involved in it

1 Expert Approved Answer
Step: 1 Unlock

In the given worstcase scenario for the randomized selection algorithm the median is found at the ve... View full answer

blur-text-image
Question Has Been Solved by an Expert!

Get step-by-step solutions from verified subject matter experts

Step: 2 Unlock
Step: 3 Unlock

Students Have Also Explored These Related Programming Questions!