Which term describes a sequential search that checks each element in a set?

Which term describes a sequential search that checks each element in a set?

• A. Binary Search
• B. Linear Algorithm
• C. Pseudocode
• D. Bubble Sort

Answer: (B)

A sequential search that checks each element in order is described by the idea of a linear search. This approach processes items one by one, moving through the set until it finds the target or runs out of elements. It’s called linear because the amount of work grows directly with the number of elements you have to inspect, giving you a worst-case time proportional to n. This fits data that isn’t sorted, since you can’t skip ahead based on value. In contrast, binary search relies on a sorted structure and repeatedly halves the search space, which is much faster but not applicable to an unsorted set. Pseudocode is simply a way to outline steps for any algorithm, not a specific search method. Bubble sort is a sorting technique, not a search. So the term that best fits a sequential, element-by-element check is linear search (represented here as a linear algorithm).

A sequential search that checks each element in order is described by the idea of a linear search. This approach processes items one by one, moving through the set until it finds the target or runs out of elements. It’s called linear because the amount of work grows directly with the number of elements you have to inspect, giving you a worst-case time proportional to n. This fits data that isn’t sorted, since you can’t skip ahead based on value. In contrast, binary search relies on a sorted structure and repeatedly halves the search space, which is much faster but not applicable to an unsorted set. Pseudocode is simply a way to outline steps for any algorithm, not a specific search method. Bubble sort is a sorting technique, not a search. So the term that best fits a sequential, element-by-element check is linear search (represented here as a linear algorithm).