2nd smallest number from 32 numbers
1,447.7K Views
You have 32 numbers. What is the least number of comparison needed to find the 2nd smallest out of them?
35 comparisons
Explanation:
You can create a tournament to find the smallest in 31 comparisons. If we need to find the second smallest, we only need to determine the smallest between those which lost to the smallest. If we use a balance binary tree, there are at most 5 such values which require 4 comparisons.
Your Answer
More puzzles to try-
The Wise king
One day a alchemist brought a king a bottle holding a strange liquid. The alchemist said, “This liquid I discovered ...Read More »Palindrome Square
Fill in the boxes using only one alphabet to make a palindrome square.Read More »Father and Grandfather Age Puzzle
A boy asks his father, ” what is the age of grand father?”. Father replied “He is x years old ...Read More »Hidden country riddle
Find the hidden country in the below given paragraph: As defendants, we deny all involvement in the unscrupulous dealings which ...Read More »A country that gets ill every time
Which country gets ill every time?Read More »Tabular Math for All
Complete the table series riddle by finding the number that can replace “??”.Read More »North to South
It flies around the world without any wings, On the way it whistles and cries, Sometimes it destroys towns and ...Read More »Board Setting Puzzle
As you can see in the picture, you have a hole with dimensions 9 ft x 2 ft Also available ...Read More »Rebus Photo Puzzle
What does this rebus photo means?Read More »What always ends everything?
What always ends everything?Read More »CCCCCCC the Rebus
What does this mean? CCCCCCCRead More »Weighing Proposition
The sum of a mother, her baby and her dog’s weight is 170 Kg. How much does the baby weigh ...Read More »Chess board puzzles
We all know that a chess board has 64 squares. This can be completely covered by 32 cardboard rectangles, each ...Read More »Richie’s Number System
Richie established a very strange number system. According to her claim for different combination of 0 and 2 you will ...Read More »What am I?
If you look, you can’t see me. If you see me, you cannot see anything else. I can make you ...Read More »God\’s arrows riddle
God\’s arrows cannot be countedRead More »Choose Partner
In a game of whist, GEORGE partnered MARY, while TED had to select a partner from ANN, EDNA, JOAN or ...Read More »Five numbers added to form these puzzle
Five numbers are added together in pairs to produce the following answers: 0,2,4,4,6,8,9,11,13,15 What are the five numbers?Read More »Runs without legs
What runs without legs ?Read More »Two in a corner
Two in a corner, one in a room, zero in a house, but one in a shelter. What is it?Read More »
Accenture Interview PuzzlesAdobe Interview PuzzlesAge RiddleAkbar Birbal PuzzlesAlgorithm PuzzlesAlphabet riddleAmazon Interview PuzzlesAnalytical MathematicsAptitude PuzzleBank PuzzlesBetting PuzzlesBrain TeasersCalendar PuzzlesCards PuzzlesChess Board PuzzleChess PuzzlesChristmas Puzzlecipher PuzzleCivil Services PuzzleClock time puzzleCognizant Interview PuzzlesCoins PuzzleComputational PuzzleconundrumCoronavirus PuzzleCoupondunia Interview PuzzleCritical Thinking Puzzledata analyticsData Structure Interview QuestionsDecode PuzzleDetective PuzzlesDice PuzzleDictionary Riddlesdifficult riddleEasy Math puzzlesEasy puzzlesEinstein puzzleEnglish RiddleFamily Tree Puzzlefamous puzzleFill in the blanks riddlesFinding Killer RiddlesFlipkart interview puzzlesFunny RiddlesGeneral KnowledgeGeographical PuzzleGoogle Code Jam 2014Google Interview PuzzlesGRE PuzzleHard Puzzle