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Data Structures
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 Top 50 Most Asked
Data Structures
Interview Questions
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1.What is a data structure?

A data structure is a way to organize and store data in
a computer so that it can be accessed and modified
efficiently.

2.What are the different types of data structures?

Linear (arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues) and non-
linear (trees, graphs).

3.What is an array?
An array is a collection of elements identified by index
or key, stored in contiguous memory locations.

4.What is a linked list?

A linked list is a linear data structure where each
element (node) contains a data part and a reference
(link) to the next node in the sequence.

5.What is the difference between an array and a linked list?

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Arrays have fixed size and allow random access, while
linked lists have dynamic size and allow sequential access

6.What are the types of linked lists?

Singly linked list, doubly linked list, and circular linked list.

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7.What is a doubly linked list?
A doubly linked list is a linked list where each node
contains references to both the next and previous nodes.
8.What is a circular linked list?
A circular linked list is a linked list where the last node
points back to the first node, forming a circle

9.What is a stack?
A stack is a linear data structure that follows the Last In,
First Out (LIFO) principle.

10.What are the basic operations of a stack?

Push (insert), pop (remove), and peek (retrieve the top
element without removing it).

11.What is a queue?
A queue is a linear data structure that follows the First
In, First Out (FIFO) principle.

12.What are the basic operations of a queue?

Enqueue (insert), dequeue (remove), front (retrieve the
front element), and rear (retrieve the rear element)

13.What is a binary tree?

A binary tree is a tree data structure in which each node
has at most two children, referred to as the left child
and the right child.

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14.What is a binary search tree (BST)?
A BST is a binary tree in which the left subtree contains
only nodes with values less than the parent node, and the
right subtree contains only nodes with values greater than
the parent node.

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15.What is the difference between a binary tree and a binary
search tree?
All nodes in a BST are arranged in a specific order (left
child < parent < right child), whereas a binary tree does
not follow this property.

16.What is a balanced tree?

A balanced tree is a tree where the height of the left
and right subtrees of every node differ by at most one.
17.What is an AVL tree?
An AVL tree is a self-balancing binary search tree where
the difference in heights of left and right subtrees cannot
be more than one for all nodes

18.What is a graph?
A graph is a collection of nodes (vertices) and edges
(connections) that connect pairs of nodes.

19.What are the types of graphs?

Directed and undirected graphs, weighted and
unweighted graphs, cyclic and acyclic graphs.

20.What is a directed graph?

A directed graph is a graph where edges have a direction,
indicating a one-way relationship between nodes.

21.What is an undirected graph?

An undirected graph is a graph where edges have no
direction, indicating a bidirectional relationship
between nodes.
22.What is a cyclic graph?
A cyclic graph is a graph that contains at least one

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cycle, a path that starts and ends at the same node.

23.What is an acyclic graph?

An acyclic graph is a graph that does not contain any

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cycles
24.What is a linear search?
Linear search is a search algorithm that checks each
element in a list sequentially until the desired element
is found or the list ends.

25.What is binary search?

Binary search is a search algorithm that finds the
position of a target value within a sorted array by
repeatedly dividing the search interval in half.
26.What are the basic sorting algorithms?
Bubble sort, selection sort, insertion sort, merge sort,
quick sort, and heap sort.

27.What is merge sort?

Merge sort is a divide-and-conquer algorithm that
divides the array into halves, recursively sorts them,
and then merges the sorted halves.

28.What is quick sort?

Quick sort is a divide-and-conquer algorithm that picks a
pivot element and partitions the array into two halves, then
recursively sorts the halves

29.What is hashing?
Hashing is the process of converting an input (or 'key') into
a fixed-size string of characters, which is usually a hash
code, used for indexing and retrieving data efficiently.

30.What is a hash table?

A hash table is a data structure that implements an
associative array, a structure that can map keys to
values using a hash function.

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31.What is a hash function?
A hash function is a function that takes an input and
returns a fixed-size string, which is typically used to
index a hash table.

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32.What are collision resolution techniques?
Techniques include chaining, open addressing
(linear probing, quadratic probing, double hashing).

33.What is a heap?
A heap is a special tree-based data structure that satisfies
the heap property: for a max heap, every parent node is
greater than or equal to its children; for a min heap, every
parent node is less than or equal to its children.
34.What is a priority queue?
A priority queue is an abstract data type similar to a
regular queue, but each element has a priority, and
elements are dequeued in order of their priority.

35.What is a trie?
A trie is a tree-like data structure that stores a dynamic
set of strings, typically used for quick retrieval of a
string in a set of strings.

36.What is a segment tree?

A segment tree is a tree data structure used for storing
intervals or segments and allows querying which of the
stored segments contain a given point.

37.What is a B-tree?
A B-tree is a self-balancing tree data structure that
maintains sorted data and allows searches, sequential
access, insertions, and deletions in logarithmic time.

38.What is a red-black tree?

A red-black tree is a self-balancing binary search tree
where each node has an extra bit for denoting the color
of the node, either red or black, ensuring the tree
remains balanced during insertions and deletions

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39.What is Big O notation?
Big O notation is a mathematical notation used to describe
the upper bound of an algorithm's runtime or space
complexity, representing the worst-case scenario.

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40.What is the time complexity of binary search?
The time complexity of binary search is O(log n).

41.What is the space complexity of merge sort?

The space complexity of merge sort is O(n) due to the
temporary arrays used for merging
42. What data structure would you use to implement a LRU
(Least Recently Used) cache?
A combination of a hash map and a doubly linked list is
typically used to implement an LRU cache.

43.What is the best data structure for implementing a phone

directory?
A trie is well-suited for implementing a phone directory
because of its efficient retrieval capabilities.

44.How would you implement a stack using queues?

You can implement a stack using two queues by
pushing elements into one queue and reversing the
order of elements during pop operations.

45.How would you implement a queue using stacks?

You can implement a queue using two stacks by using one
stack for enqueuing elements and the other for dequeuing
elements, transferring elements between stacks as needed

46.What is a bloom filter?

A bloom filter is a probabilistic data structure used to
test whether an element is a member of a set, allowing
for false positive matches but not false negatives.

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47.What is a skip list?
A skip list is a data structure that allows fast search,
insertion, and deletion operations, using multiple levels

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of linked lists to maintain a sorted order of elements.

48.What is the difference between a shallow copy and a deep

copy?
A shallow copy creates a new object but inserts
references into it to the objects found in the original. A
deep copy creates a new object and recursively copies
all objects found in the original.
49.What is the difference between a stack and a heap?
The stack is used for static memory allocation and
manages function calls and local variables. The heap is
used for dynamic memory allocation, where variables
are allocated and freed in an arbitrary order.

50.What are some real-world applications of data structures?

Applications include databases (B-trees), file
systems (directory structures), network routing
(graphs), memory management (heaps), search
engines (hash tables, tries), and more.

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