The average case occurs in the Linear Search Algorithm when:a)The item...
- The average case occurs in the Linear Search Algorithm when the item to be searched is in some where middle of the Array.
- The best case occurs in the Linear Search Algorithm when the item to be searched is in starting of the Array.
- The worst case occurs in the Linear Search Algorithm when the item to be searched is in end of the Array.
So, option (A) is correct.
The average case occurs in the Linear Search Algorithm when:a)The item...
Explanation:
Linear search is a simple searching algorithm that sequentially checks each element of a list or array until it finds the target element. The average case occurs when the item to be searched is in somewhere in the middle of the array.
Linear Search Algorithm:
1. Start from the leftmost element of the array and compare each element with the target element.
2. If the current element matches the target element, return the index of the element.
3. If the current element does not match the target element, move to the next element.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the end of the array is reached or the target element is found.
Analysis of the Average Case:
In the average case, we assume that the target element is equally likely to be present at any position in the array. Therefore, on average, we need to search half of the array elements before finding the target element.
Example:
Let's consider an array of size 10 with the target element being 7. In the average case, the target element can be present at any position in the array with equal probability.
- If the target element is present at the 5th position, we need to search 5 elements before finding it.
- If the target element is present at the 6th position, we need to search 6 elements before finding it.
- If the target element is present at the 7th position, we need to search 7 elements before finding it.
On average, the number of elements to be searched before finding the target element is (5+6+7)/3 = 6. Therefore, the average case occurs when the item to be searched is in somewhere in the middle of the array.
Conclusion:
In the linear search algorithm, the average case occurs when the item to be searched is in somewhere in the middle of the array. This is because, on average, we need to search half of the array elements before finding the target element.