Trace binary search indices in 18-element array
Company: Bitkernel
Role: Software Engineer
Category: Software Engineering Fundamentals
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Take-home Project
An ordered list of 18 elements is stored in a one-dimensional array `A[1..18]` (1-based indexing). You perform standard binary search for the element at position `A[3]`.
Assuming that at each step the middle index is computed as `mid = floor((low + high) / 2)`, what is the sequence of indices examined during the search for `A[3]`?
Options:
- A. `1, 2, 3`
- B. `9, 5, 3`
- C. `9, 5, 2, 3`
- D. `9, 4, 2, 3`
Quick Answer: This question evaluates understanding of the binary search algorithm, integer mid-index computation, and array indexing nuances (1-based indexing) when tracing the sequence of probed indices.