a) Identify the least number of integer comparisons, or best-case performance required to find the maximum of a sequence of n integers, using the algorithm that starts by assuming that the maximum is the first list element and then runs through the list, updating the maximum each time it encounters a bigger element.

b) Identify the least number of item comparisons, or best-case performance, used to locate an item in a list of n items with a linear search.

c) Identify the least number of item comparisons, or best-case performance, used to locate an item in a list of n items using a binary search, assuming that n is a power of 2.