MCQ Questions

Q1: Big-O notation definition

Big(O) notation:

• (A) identifies the best algorithm to solve a problem.
• (B) determines maximum size of a problem that can be solved on a system in a given time.
• (C) is the lower bound of the growth rate of an algorithm.
• (D) is the upper bound of the growth rate of an algorithm.
• (E) None of the above.

Answer: D. Big-O describes an asymptotic upper bound of the growth rate; Big-Omega is the lower bound, Big-Theta is tight.

Q2: Quicksort partition pivot index

Given array [76, 97, 25, 115, 83, 51, 18, 36], quicksort with the first element (76) as pivot. After one Lomuto/Hoare partition, what is the 1-indexed position of the pivot?

• (A) 1
• (B) 3
• (C) 5
• (D) 4

Answer: C (5). Elements less than 76 are 25, 51, 18, 36 (4 elements). After partition, 76 sits at index 5 (1-indexed) with the 4 smaller values to its left and 97, 115, 83 to its right.

Q3: SQL IN syntax

Pick the expression with the correct syntax.

• (A) SELECT * FROM logs WHERE priority IN ('high', 'medium')
• (B) SELECT * FROM logs WHERE priority VALUES IN ('high', 'medium')
• (C) SELECT * FROM logs WHERE priority IN VALUES ('high', 'medium')
• (D) SELECT * FROM logs WHERE priority IN SET ('high', 'medium')

Answer: A. Standard SQL IN takes a parenthesized value list directly; VALUES / SET keywords are not valid here.