GCSE > Computer Science > OxfordAQA > GCSE Computer Science > ALGORITHMS AND PROGRAMMING: Computational thinking > Searching algorithms
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COMPUTER SYSTEMS: Encoding and compression

COMPUTER SYSTEMS: Network topologies

COMPUTER SYSTEMS: Wired and wireless networks, protocols, and layers

COMPUTER SYSTEMS: Threats to computer systems and networks

COMPUTER SYSTEMS: Operating systems and utility software

COMPUTER SYSTEMS: Impact of technology on society

ALGORITHMS AND PROGRAMMING: Types of data

ALGORITHMS AND PROGRAMMING: Producing robust programs

ALGORITHMS AND PROGRAMMING: Designing, creating, and refining algorithms

ALGORITHMS AND PROGRAMMING: Programming languages

ALGORITHMS AND PROGRAMMING: Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  Method Use case Example
Linear search Check each item in the list one by one until the target is found Small or unsorted data sets

Searching for 7 in [4, 2, 7, 9]:

→ Check 4, 2, then 7
Binary search

Look at the middle item. If it’s not the target:

  • Go left if the target is smaller
  • Go right if it’s bigger
  • Repeat until found or list is empty
 Large, sorted data sets

Searching for 6 in [1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9]:

→ Middle is 5

→ go right

→ 6

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