I asked chatgpt to give me some multiple choice questions on linear search algorithms and one of the questions asked was:
What is the worst-case scenario for a linear search algorithm? a) The target element is found at the beginning of the data structure. b) The target element is found at the end of the data structure. c) The target element is not present in the data structure. d) The target element is found in the middle of the data structure.
I know that this all depends on the size of the data structure itself. My question is how are the answers b) and c) different. I assume that it is the same because the algorithm has already iterated through the entire data structure with both answers b) and c). If anyone can clarify for me.
I choose b) as my orignal answer but I am wondering why b) and c) aren't both correct answers.
Both of them are equally bad. Yes, the answer will be both options b. and c. Since in both cases we traverse till the end of the array.