Selection sort MCQs – T4Tutorials.com

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1. : What is the primary purpose of Selection Sort?
(A) To search for an element
(B) To sort an array
(C) To merge two arrays
(D) To partition data

2. : What is the worst-case time complexity of Selection Sort?
(A) O(n)
(B) O(n log n)
(C) O(n^2)
(D) O(log n)

3. : Which statement best describes how Selection Sort works?
(A) It compares adjacent elements and swaps them.
(B) It repeatedly selects the smallest element from the unsorted portion and places it at the beginning.
(C) It divides the array into two halves and sorts them independently.
(D) It uses a divide-and-conquer approach to sort the array.

4. : What is the best-case time complexity of Selection Sort?
(A) O(n)
(B) O(n log n)
(C) O(n^2)
(D) O(log n)

5. : Which of the following is true about the stability of Selection Sort?
(A) It is a stable sorting algorithm.
(B) It is not a stable sorting algorithm.
(C) It can only sort numerical data.
(D) It requires additional memory for stability.

6. : What is the average-case time complexity of Selection Sort?
(A) O(n)
(B) O(n log n)
(C) O(n^2)
(D) O(log n)

7. : In Selection Sort, what happens to the elements in the unsorted portion of the array?
(A) They are ignored until the next pass.
(B) They are sorted simultaneously.
(C) They are selected one by one to find the minimum.
(D) They are rearranged randomly.

8. : How many comparisons are made in the worst case during Selection Sort?
(A) n
(B) n/2
(C) n^2
(D) n(n-1)/2

9. : Which algorithm is generally less efficient than Selection Sort for large datasets?
(A) Insertion Sort
(B) Merge Sort
(C) Bubble Sort
(D) Quick Sort

10. : What is the space complexity of Selection Sort?
(A) O(1)
(B) O(n)
(C) O(n log n)
(D) O(n^2)

11. : In which of the following scenarios is Selection Sort particularly useful?
(A) Sorting large datasets
(B) Sorting small datasets
(C) Real-time data processing
(D) When memory usage is a concern

12. : What happens to the number of passes made by Selection Sort as the size of the array increases?
(A) It decreases.
(B) It remains constant.
(C) It increases linearly.
(D) It increases quadratically.

13. : What is the output of Selection Sort if the input array is [4, 3, 2, 1]?
(A) [1, 2, 3, 4]
(B) [4, 3, 2, 1]
(C) [2, 1, 3, 4]
(D) [3, 4, 1, 2]

14. : How does Selection Sort compare to Bubble Sort in terms of efficiency?
(A) It is more efficient.
(B) It is less efficient.
(C) They are equally efficient.
(D) It depends on the dataset.

15. : Which of the following statements about Selection Sort is incorrect?
(A) It is easy to implement.
(B) It can be done in place.
(C) It is not suitable for large datasets.
(D) It is always stable.

16. : How does the Selection Sort algorithm determine the next smallest element?
(A) By comparing adjacent elements.
(B) By scanning the entire unsorted portion of the array.
(C) By using a recursive function.
(D) By maintaining a sorted list.

17. : What will be the result of applying Selection Sort to the array [5, 2, 9, 1, 5, 6]?
(A) [1, 2, 5, 5, 6, 9]
(B) [5, 5, 6, 1, 2, 9]
(C) [9, 6, 5, 5, 2, 1]
(D) [1, 5, 2, 6, 9, 5]

18. : What is the main reason for the inefficiency of Selection Sort?
(A) It requires too much memory.
(B) It makes too many comparisons.
(C) It uses recursion.
(D) It does not work well with duplicates.

19. : Which sorting algorithm is commonly used in educational settings to illustrate sorting concepts?
(A) Quick Sort
(B) Merge Sort
(C) Selection Sort
(D) Heap Sort

20. : What is the effect of using Selection Sort on an already sorted array?
(A) It sorts the array again.
(B) It remains unchanged.
(C) It reverses the array.
(D) It becomes unstable.

21. : In Selection Sort, which element is selected first?
(A) The largest element
(B) The smallest element
(C) The middle element
(D) The last element

22. : What type of sorting is Selection Sort classified as?
(A) In-place sorting
(B) External sorting
(C) Comparison-based sorting
(D) All of the above

23. : Which characteristic of Selection Sort makes it less suitable for large datasets?
(A) It uses too much memory.
(B) It requires multiple passes through the array.
(C) It cannot handle negative numbers.
(D) It only sorts in ascending order.

24. : What would happen if Selection Sort is applied to an array with only one element?
(A) The array will be sorted.
(B) An error will occur.
(C) The array will remain unchanged.
(D) The algorithm will loop indefinitely.

25. : How does Selection Sort handle duplicate elements?
(A) It ignores them.
(B) It sorts them randomly.
(C) It maintains their relative order.
(D) It treats them as distinct values.

26. : Which of the following is a limitation of Selection Sort?
(A) It is a comparison sort.
(B) It does not require extra space.
(C) It is not adaptive.
(D) It maintains stability.

27. : What type of data structure is typically used to implement Selection Sort?
(A) Linked List
(B) Array
(C) Tree
(D) Graph

28. : How many elements does Selection Sort need to sort?
(A) At least one
(B) At least two
(C) At least three
(D) At least four

29. : In which of the following scenarios would Selection Sort perform the worst?
(A) When the array is sorted
(B) When the array is in reverse order
(C) When all elements are equal
(D) When the array has random values

30. : What is the main idea behind the name “Selection Sort”?
(A) It selects elements randomly.
(B) It selects the largest elements first.
(C) It selects the smallest elements repeatedly to build a sorted array.
(D) It selects elements based on their index.

31. : How does Selection Sort achieve its sorting?
(A) By swapping elements
(B) By inserting elements
(C) By comparing and selecting
(D) By merging elements

32. : Which of the following is not a feature of Selection Sort?
(A) It is an in-place sorting algorithm.
(B) It is a stable sorting algorithm.
(C) It works well for small lists.
(D) It uses minimal additional memory.

33. : What will be the result of applying Selection Sort to the array [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6]?
(A) [1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9]
(B) [9, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1]
(C) [4, 1, 3, 2, 5, 9, 6, 1]
(D) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 1]

34. : What is the final position of the smallest element after one pass of Selection Sort?
(A) It remains in its original position.
(B) It is placed at the end of the array.
(C) It is placed at the beginning of the sorted portion.
(D) It is moved to the middle of the array.

35. : How does Selection Sort handle sorted or partially sorted arrays?
(A) It performs optimally.
(B) It performs poorly.
(C) It performs the same as random arrays.
(D) It cannot handle them.

36. : Which of the following sorting algorithms is based on a similar concept to Selection Sort?
(A) Merge Sort
(B) Quick Sort
(C) Insertion Sort
(D) Heap Sort

37. : What will the result of Selection Sort be if it is applied to an empty array?
(A) An error will occur.
(B) The empty array will remain unchanged.
(C) The array will be filled with zeros.
(D) The algorithm will enter an infinite loop.

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Selection sort MCQs
By: Prof. Dr. Fazal Rehman | Last updated: May 15, 2025

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