gen-define-quicksort-and-its-pivot-and-give-one-short-worked-exa-7b38

Define quicksort and its pivot and give one short worked example.

# Quicksort **Quicksort** is a divide-and-conquer sorting algorithm that works by: 1. Selecting a 'pivot' element from the array 2. Partitioning the other elements into two sub-arrays: those less than the pivot and those greater than the pivot 3. Recursively sorting the sub-arrays **Pivot**: An element chosen from the array to serve as a comparison point for partitioning. Common strategies include picking the first element, last element, middle element, or a random element. ## Worked Example Sort: `[8, 3, 1, 7, 0, 10, 2]` **Step 1**: Choose pivot = 2 (last element) - Partition: elements ≤2 go left, elements >2 go right - Result: `[1, 0, 2]` **2** `[8, 3, 7, 10]` **Step 2**: Sort left sub-array `[1, 0, 2]`, pivot = 2 - Result: `[1, 0]` **2** `[]` - Sort `[1, 0]`, pivot = 0: `[]` **0** `[1]` **Step 3**: Sort right sub-array `[8, 3, 7, 10]`, pivot = 10 - Result: `[8, 3, 7]` **10** `[]` - Sort `[8, 3, 7]`, pivot = 7: `[3]` **7** `[8]` **Final sorted array**: `[0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10]` **Time Complexity**: O(n log n) average, O(n²) worst case