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Merge Sort


Merge Sort Problems

Problem : In the course of a merge sort on a 64 element list, how many times must the list be split?


Problem : Consider the following pairs of lists:

  • A. (3, 5, 7, 9) and (2, 4, 6, 8)
  • B. (1, 2, 3, 4) and (5, 6, 7, 8)
Which pair is more efficiently merged?


Problem : Below is an 8 element list that has been broken down into 8 one element lists. Show the merging of the lists to form and ordered list. (6), (3), (8), (2), (9), (1), (5), (7)


Problem : The list above required 7 merges to be sorted. In general, how many merges will be performed in an n element list (for the sake of simplicity, assume that n is a power of 2)?