This study notes covers Deep Dive: Merge Sort within Binary Search for GCSE Computer Science. Revise Binary Search in Algorithms for GCSE Computer Science with 15 exam-style questions and 10 flashcards. This topic appears less often, but it can still be a useful differentiator on mixed-topic papers. It is section 6 of 8 in this topic. Use this study notes to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 6 of 8
Practice
15 questions
Recall
10 flashcards
Deep Dive: Merge Sort
Divide and conquer:
- Divide: Split list in half until single elements
- Conquer: Merge pairs back together in sorted order
[38, 27, 43, 3] → [38, 27] and [43, 3] → [38] [27] [43] [3] → [27, 38] [3, 43] → [3, 27, 38, 43]
Uses more memory (creates new arrays) but much faster for large lists!