What is the typical worst-case time complexity of Merge Sort?

Options

  • A. O(N)
  • B. O(log N)
  • C. O(N log N)
  • D. More than one of the above
  • E. None of the above

Correct Answer (Detailed Explanation is Below)

C. O(N log N)

Detailed Explanation

Merge Sort has a worst-case time complexity of O(N log N). The array is divided into approximately log N levels, and merging across each level requires O(N) work. Therefore, the total work is O(N log N). Unlike Quick Sort, Merge Sort maintains O(N log N) worst-case time complexity regardless of the initial ordering of the input. Its common array implementation requires O(N) auxiliary space.