Question

What will be the output if quickselect algorithm is applied to the array arr={1,5,4,3,7} with k given as 4?

(a) 1

(b) 3

(c) 4

(d) 5

I had been asked this question in an international level competition.

This intriguing question comes from Miscellaneous in section Miscellaneous of Data Structures & Algorithms II

Answer 1

Correct choice is (d) 5

The explanation is: Quickselect algorithm finds the kth smallest element from the given list. So as here the given value of k is 4 so we need to find the fourth smallest element which is 5 in the given array.