Interpolation search MCQs – T4Tutorials.com

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1. : What is the primary function of Interpolation Search?
(A) To find the maximum element in an array
(B) To search for a specific element in a sorted array
(C) To sort an array
(D) To merge two arrays

2. : Which type of data structure is required for Interpolation Search to work effectively?
(A) Unsorted array
(B) Linked list
(C) Sorted array
(D) Stack

3. : What is the time complexity of Interpolation Search in the average case?
(A) O(1)
(B) O(log n)
(C) O(n)
(D) O(n log n)

4. : In which scenario is Interpolation Search most efficient?
(A) When the data is uniformly distributed
(B) When the data is randomly distributed
(C) When the data is completely sorted
(D) When the data contains many duplicates

5. : What is the worst-case time complexity of Interpolation Search?
(A) O(log n)
(B) O(n)
(C) O(n log n)
(D) O(1)

6. : What method does Interpolation Search use to estimate the position of the target element?
(A) Random selection
(B) Linear estimation based on values
(C) Binary division
(D) Merging sorted arrays

7. : What type of search algorithm is Interpolation Search?
(A) Iterative
(B) Recursive
(C) Both iterative and recursive
(D) None of the above

8. : What happens if the target value is outside the range of the elements in the array?
(A) The search will continue indefinitely
(B) The search will return the nearest element
(C) The search will return -1
(D) An error will be thrown

9. : Which of the following is a key advantage of Interpolation Search over Binary Search?
(A) It is simpler to implement
(B) It can handle unsorted data
(C) It has a better average-case performance on uniformly distributed data
(D) It requires less memory

10. : Which factor can significantly degrade the performance of Interpolation Search?
(A) Uniform distribution of data
(B) Sorted data
(C) Non-uniform distribution of data
(D) High number of elements

11. : How does Interpolation Search determine the next index to check?
(A) By taking the average of low and high
(B) By using a formula based on the values of the array
(C) By checking the midpoint
(D) By incrementing the index linearly

12. : In which situation is it recommended to use Interpolation Search?
(A) When the array is small
(B) When the array is sorted and uniformly distributed
(C) When the data is linked
(D) When there are many duplicate values

13. : What is the space complexity of Interpolation Search?
(A) O(1)
(B) O(n)
(C) O(log n)
(D) O(n log n)

14. : Which of the following is true about Interpolation Search?
(A) It is faster than Binary Search in all cases
(B) It is slower than Linear Search in all cases
(C) It can perform better than Binary Search under certain conditions
(D) It is only applicable for integer arrays

15. : What should be true about the array for Interpolation Search to function correctly?
(A) The array must be sorted
(B) The array must contain unique elements
(C) The array must be in descending order
(D) The array can be in any order

16. : How does the performance of Interpolation Search compare to Binary Search?
(A) Always better
(B) Always worse
(C) Better for uniformly distributed data, worse for non-uniform data
(D) Identical in all cases

17. : What is the average case time complexity of Interpolation Search when the data is uniformly distributed?
(A) O(log n)
(B) O(n)
(C) O(n log n)
(D) O(1)

18. : What can result in an unsuccessful search in Interpolation Search?
(A) Target element not present in the array
(B) Array not sorted
(C) Array containing duplicates
(D) All of the above

19. : What is the main computational strategy of Interpolation Search?
(A) Merging
(B) Estimating the target’s position
(C) Dividing the array into equal halves
(D) Incrementing through the array

20. : Which condition is NOT a requirement for using Interpolation Search?
(A) The array must be sorted
(B) The array must contain unique values
(C) The array must be accessible in constant time
(D) The array should ideally have uniformly distributed values

21. : How does Interpolation Search handle duplicates?
(A) It skips duplicates
(B) It can find the first occurrence
(C) It can find the last occurrence
(D) It performs poorly

22. : What is the purpose of the “low” and “high” indices in Interpolation Search?
(A) To define the current search range
(B) To sort the array
(C) To find the maximum element
(D) To calculate the median

23. : Which statement about the efficiency of Interpolation Search is true?
(A) It is inefficient for small arrays.
(B) It is always more efficient than Binary Search.
(C) It can be less efficient for arrays with a large variance.
(D) It can only be used with integer values.

24. : What happens during the first iteration of an Interpolation Search?
(A) The algorithm calculates the middle index.
(B) The algorithm calculates a new index based on value estimates.
(C) The search is terminated.
(D) The entire array is traversed.

25. : How does the choice of a pivot affect the performance of Interpolation Search?
(A) It has no effect.
(B) A poor choice can lead to worst-case scenarios.
(C) It always optimizes performance.
(D) It only affects space complexity.

26. : Which of the following algorithms is similar in nature to Interpolation Search?
(A) Linear Search
(B) Binary Search
(C) Exponential Search
(D) Jump Search

27. : What is the main drawback of using Interpolation Search?
(A) It cannot find the target element.
(B) It may perform poorly on non-uniformly distributed data.
(C) It requires more memory.
(D) It is less accurate than Linear Search.

28. : What is the best-case time complexity for Interpolation Search?
(A) O(1)
(B) O(log n)
(C) O(n)
(D) O(n log n)

29. : Which technique does Interpolation Search use to estimate the position of the target element?
(A) Statistical estimation
(B) Random sampling
(C) Linear interpolation
(D) Polynomial interpolation

30. : What is the effect of the number of elements on the efficiency of Interpolation Search?
(A) It is directly proportional.
(B) It is inversely proportional.
(C) It has no effect.
(D) It increases complexity exponentially.

31. : What does Interpolation Search do when the target is found?
(A) It returns the index of the target.
(B) It returns the value of the target.
(C) It continues searching.
(D) It resets the search.

32. : Which of the following conditions can make Interpolation Search ineffective?
(A) Data being sorted
(B) Data being uniformly distributed
(C) Data having many duplicates
(D) Data being small

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Interpolation search MCQs
By: Prof. Dr. Fazal Rehman | Last updated: May 15, 2025

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