The "divide and conquer" technique is commonly used in which sorting algorithm?Select one:a. Quick Sortb. Bubble Sortc. Merge Sortd. Selection Sort

Explanation

The "divide and conquer" technique is a fundamental algorithm design paradigm that breaks a problem into smaller subproblems, solves each subproblem independently, and then combines their solutions.

1. Quick Sort: This algorithm works by selecting a 'pivot' element, partitioning the array into elements less than and greater than the pivot, and recursively sorting the subarrays. This is an example of divide and conquer.

2. Bubble Sort: This sorting method repeatedly steps through the list, compares adjacent elements, and swaps them if they are in the wrong order. It does not use the divide and conquer approach.

3. Merge Sort: This algorithm divides the array into halves, recursively sorts each half, and then merges the two sorted halves back together. This is also a classic example of the divide and conquer technique.

4. Selection Sort: This method divides the list into a sorted and an unsorted region and repeatedly selects the smallest (or largest) element from the unsorted region to add to the sorted region. It does not utilize divide and conquer.

Conclusion

Both Quick Sort and Merge Sort utilize the divide and conquer technique. However, since the question asks for the most commonly associated algorithm, the best answer is:

Final Answer

c. Merge Sort