MCQ on Recursion

What is the base case in a recursive function?

a) The case that calls the function recursively

b) The condition that terminates the recursion

c) The first line of the recursive function

d) The return statement that passes values to the caller

Which of the following problems is NOT typically solved using recursion?

a) Tower of Hanoi

b) Fibonacci sequence

c) Linear search in an unsorted array

d) Tree traversal

What happens when a recursive function does not have a proper base case?

a) The function returns null

b) The function executes only once

c) Stack overflow occurs due to infinite recursion

d) The compiler generates an error

In recursive algorithms, what is the time complexity of calculating the 
    
nth Fibonacci number using naive recursion?

What is tail recursion?

a) A recursive call that appears at the beginning of the function

b) A recursive call that is the last operation in the function

c) A function that calls itself multiple times

d) A recursive function without a base case

Which data structure is implicitly used to manage recursive function calls?

What is the space complexity of a recursive function that makes 
                            
n recursive calls with each call using constant space?

In the context of recursion, what does "stack frame/activation record" 
                            
refer to?

a) The memory allocated for the entire program

b) The memory space for each individual function call including parameters and local variables

c) The total number of recursive calls made

d) The return value of a recursive function

Which technique can be used to optimize recursive algorithms
                            
by storing previously computed results?

Q10

What is the primary difference between direct and indirect recursion?

a) Direct recursion uses loops while indirect recursion does not

b) Direct recursion calls itself directly while indirect recursion involves multiple functions calling each other

c) Direct recursion is faster than indirect recursion

d) Direct recursion cannot have a base case

Q11

In the merge sort algorithm, what type of recursion is primarily used?

a) Linear recursion

b) Binary recursion

c) Tail recursion

d) Mutual recursion

Q12

What is the recurrence relation for the time complexity of binary search?

a) T(n) = T(n-1) + O(1)

b) T(n) = 2T(n/2) + O(1)

c) T(n) = T(n/2) + O(1)

d) T(n) = T(n-2) + O(1)

Q13

Which of the following is an advantage of iterative solutions over 
                            
recursive solutions?

a) Always easier to understand

b) More memory efficient due to no function call overhead

c) Can solve more types of problems

d) Executes in less time in all cases

Q14

In a recursive implementation of factorial(n), how many recursive calls
                            
are made to compute factorial(5)?

Q15

What is the depth of recursion for computing the Greatest Common Divisor
                            
(GCD) of two numbers using Euclidean algorithm?

Q16

Which problem-solving technique naturally leads to recursive solutions?

a) Greedy approach

b) Dynamic programming with tabulation

c) Divide and conquer

d) Brute force

Q17

What is multiple recursion?

a) Calling the same function multiple times in sequence

b) A function that makes more than one recursive call within its body

c) Using multiple base cases

d) Recursion that runs in multiple threads

Q18

In quicksort algorithm, what is the nature of the recursive calls?

a) Single linear recursion

b) Two recursive calls on partitioned subarrays

c) Tail recursion only

d) No recursion is used

Q19

What is the primary reason recursion is preferred for
                            
tree traversal algorithms?

a) It uses less memory than iteration

b) It naturally mirrors the hierarchical structure of trees

c) It executes faster than iterative approaches

d) It requires less code in all cases

Q20

When converting a recursive algorithm to an iterative one,
                            
which data structure is typically used to simulate the call stack?

MCQ Attempted/Unattempted

MCQ Test on Recursion