Consider the Quicksort algorithm. Suppose there is a procedure for fin...
For the case where n/5 elements are in one subset, T(n/5) comparisons are needed for the first subset with n/5 elements, T(4n/5) is for the rest 4n/5 elements, and n is for finding the pivot. If there are more than n/5 elements in one set then other set will have less than 4n/5 elements and time complexity will be less than T(n/5) + T(4n/5) + n because recursion tree will be more balanced.
Consider the Quicksort algorithm. Suppose there is a procedure for fin...
Understanding Quicksort and Pivot Selection
In the Quicksort algorithm, the choice of pivot is crucial for performance. In this scenario, we have a pivot selection method that guarantees that each sub-list contains at least one-fifth of the elements. This significantly influences the recurrence relation for the number of comparisons required to sort a list of size \(n\).
The Recurrence Relation
We denote \(T(n)\) as the number of comparisons needed to sort \(n\) elements. Given the pivot splits the list into two sub-lists, one with at least \(n/5\) elements and the other with at most \(4n/5\) elements, we can express the recurrence relation as follows:
- The first sub-list has a size of at least \(n/5\).
- The second sub-list has a size of at most \(4n/5\).
Thus, the number of comparisons can be captured by the relation:
Option B: T(n) <= T(n/5) + T(4n/5) + n
This relation indicates that:
- \(T(n/5)\) accounts for the time to sort the smaller sub-list.
- \(T(4n/5)\) accounts for the time to sort the larger sub-list.
- The \(n\) term represents the comparisons made during partitioning around the pivot.
Why Other Options are Incorrect
- Option A: \(T(n) <= 2T(n/5) + n\) is incorrect as it assumes both sub-lists are of size \(n/5\), which is not guaranteed.
- Option C: \(T(n) <= 2T(4n/5) + n\) is also incorrect because it does not account for the smaller sub-list.
- Option D: \(T(n) <= 2T(n/2) + n\) assumes a balanced split, which is not applicable here.
Conclusion
In summary, the correct recurrence relation that accurately reflects the behavior of the modified Quicksort with the specific pivot selection is:
Option B: T(n) <= T(n/5) + T(4n/5) + n