Written by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 examโขWritten by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Definition
A binary search algorithm is an efficient searching algorithm that repeatedly divides a sorted list into halves, eliminating half of the remaining elements at each step, until it finds the target value or determines it does not exist.
A collection of data arranged in ascending or descending order based on some criteria.
Divide and Conquer: An approach where problems are divided into smaller subproblems, solved independently, and then combined to obtain solutions for larger problems.