CST 370 - Week 4

 Hey everyone!

This week in class, I focused on two main things: learning about Merge Sort and reviewing for the upcoming midterm.

We covered Merge Sort in detail, and it really helped me understand how divide-and-conquer algorithms work. I learned that Merge Sort breaks down an array into smaller parts, sorts each part, and then merges them back together in a sorted order. What stood out to me is how efficient it is, especially for large datasets, with a time complexity of O(n log n). I found the recursive nature of the algorithm interesting, and practicing it helped me see how smaller problems can be solved independently and then combined to solve the larger problem.

Aside from learning new material, a big part of this week was focused on reviewing for the midterm. I went over topics from previous weeks like brute-force algorithms, string matching, and graph traversal methods (DFS and BFS). I also spent time practicing problems and using flashcards to reinforce key concepts. I even shared my flashcard method on Discord to help others prepare more efficiently, which felt like a good way to contribute to the class community.

Overall, this week was a productive mix of learning new content and reinforcing past material. I feel more confident heading into the midterm and better prepared thanks to consistent review and active participation.

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