Q106: In the worst case, the number of comparisons needed to... - Data Structures - Computer Application- ICAR JRF/SRF 2024 | Agrigyan

• Search Complexity in Singly Linked Lists:
• In a singly linked list containing $n$ elements, random access is not supported because nodes must be traversed sequentially following pointers from the head.
• In the worst case (where the target element is located at the tail node or is not present in the list):
• The search algorithm must visit and compare every single node from 1 to $n$.
• Hence, the worst-case number of comparisons is exactly $n$ ($O(n)$ linear search time).
• Conclusion: The number of comparisons is n (Option 4).

Correct option: (4) n