Sunday, 16 November 2025

#11 Cheat Sheet for Algorithms before Exams - Revision

 Single‑page cheat sheet that puts Binary Search, Sorting, Recursion, and Graph Traversal side‑by‑side. It’s designed for quick exam revision — concise, visual, and bilingual with Tamil slogans for recall.


📘 Algorithm Cheat Sheet — Exam Revision

AlgorithmStorytelling (CUTE) ExampleTraditional Definition & StepsComplexityTamil Slogan
Binary SearchRevathi searches roll number in 1,000 results. Instead of scanning all, she “jumps to the middle” and halves the list each time. Finds it in 7 steps.Find middle → compare → go left/right → repeat until found.(O(\log n))“அதிர்ச்சி தான் கதையை உயிர்ப்பிக்கும்!” (Surprise brings life to the story!)
SortingHostel mess plates stacked randomly. Students waste time. Bubble sort swaps until plates are ordered. Everyone finds plates quickly.Compare adjacent → swap if needed → repeat until sorted.(O(n^2)) (Bubble), (O(n \log n)) (Merge/Quick)“ஒழுங்கு தான் வேகத்தை தரும்!” (Order brings speed!)
RecursionArun climbs stairs. Wonders how many ways for 5 steps. Learns to think smaller (4 steps, 3 steps). Solves by breaking into sub‑problems.Function calls itself → base case → recursive case → combine results.Depends (Factorial (O(n)), Fibonacci exponential without memoization).“சிறியதைப் புரிந்தால் பெரியதை வெல்லலாம்!” (Understand the small, conquer the big!)
Graph Traversal (DFS/BFS)Revathi explores hostel rooms. Senior suggests DFS (go deep) or BFS (level by level). She systematically visits all rooms.DFS: stack/recursion → go deep. BFS: queue → level by level.(O(V+E))“ஒவ்வொரு பாதையும், ஒவ்வொரு அனுபவமும்!” (Every path, every experience!)

✨ Quick Exam Tips

  • Binary Search: Always needs sorted input.
  • Sorting: Know at least one simple (Bubble) and one efficient (Merge/Quick).
  • Recursion: Identify base case clearly.
  • Graph Traversal: BFS → shortest path; DFS → depth exploration.

🎉 Tamil revision slogan: “நான்கு கதைகள், ஒரு பக்கம் — தேர்வில் வெற்றி நிச்சயம்!” (Four stories, one page — exam success guaranteed!)


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