Which term describes solving a problem by breaking it into smaller subproblems, solving them, and combining the solutions?

Which term describes solving a problem by breaking it into smaller subproblems, solving them, and combining the solutions?

• A. Randomization
• B. Pseudocode
• C. Recursive Algorithm
• D. Linear Search

Answer: (C)

Breaking a problem into smaller subproblems, solving them, and combining the results describes recursion. An algorithm that uses recursion calls itself with smaller instances of the same problem, repeats this process until it reaches a simple base case that can be solved directly, and then builds the final answer as those subresults come back up the chain. This approach is common in tasks like computing factorials or summing elements in a list, where you solve a tiny version of the problem and use its result to solve the original one. In this context, the term that fits is a recursive algorithm, since it relies on solving smaller copies of the same problem and then combining their outcomes. Other terms refer to different ideas: randomization uses chance to guide steps, pseudocode is just a high-level step-by-step outline, and linear search is a straightforward method for finding an item by checking each element in order.

Breaking a problem into smaller subproblems, solving them, and combining the results describes recursion. An algorithm that uses recursion calls itself with smaller instances of the same problem, repeats this process until it reaches a simple base case that can be solved directly, and then builds the final answer as those subresults come back up the chain. This approach is common in tasks like computing factorials or summing elements in a list, where you solve a tiny version of the problem and use its result to solve the original one.

In this context, the term that fits is a recursive algorithm, since it relies on solving smaller copies of the same problem and then combining their outcomes. Other terms refer to different ideas: randomization uses chance to guide steps, pseudocode is just a high-level step-by-step outline, and linear search is a straightforward method for finding an item by checking each element in order.