17.1.3 - Stability in Merge Sort
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Practice Questions
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What is a stable sort?
💡 Hint: Think about sorting where two identical scores are at stake.
Name one stable sorting algorithm.
💡 Hint: Recall an algorithm that divides and conquers.
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Interactive Quizzes
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What defines a stable sorting algorithm?
💡 Hint: Think about what happens to identical items after sorting.
Is merge sort always stable?
💡 Hint: Reflect on how merge sort handles equal elements.
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Challenge Problems
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Consider a dataset of students' names and scores. You first sorted it alphabetically by name, and then by score. If you notice that some students have the same scores, explain how to implement a stable sort to maintain original alphabetical order.
💡 Hint: Think back to how merge operations handle ties.
Discuss how the context of data storage affects your choice of sorting algorithms. What criteria should you consider when sorting large datasets that's stored across multiple locations?
💡 Hint: Reflect on the properties of the algorithms we've studied.
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