Searching algorithms Key Terms

Linear search

An algorithm that examines list elements sequentially until a target is found or all elements have been checked.

Time complexity

A description of how the amount of work performed by an algorithm changes as the input size changes.

Binary search

A search algorithm that repeatedly checks the middle of an ordered range and discards the half that cannot contain the target.

Time complexity

A description of how the number of operations performed by an algorithm changes as the input size increases.

Root node

The starting node at the top of a binary tree, examined first during a binary tree search.

Time complexity

A description of how the amount of work required by an algorithm changes as the number of values, n, changes.