150. OCR A Level (H046-H446) SLR25 – 2.3 Implement binary search

About this video

OCR Specification Reference
AS Level 2.3.1f
A Level 2.3.1b

An alternative to a linear search, the binary search starts in the middle of a list and removes half of the items from the list until the item you are looking for is found. It is usually more efficient than a linear search. This video introduces the algorithm.

Key questions:

- Can you successfully implement a binary search in a high-level programming language of your choice?
- Do you understand how a binary search works, and can you trace its code to explain how it works?

00:00 Implement a binary search
00:06 Intro
00:11 Checklist
00:34 What is the binary search algorithm?
01:03 What are the applications of a binary search?
01:28 Visualising a binary search
01:42 Binary search pseudocode
05:06 Binary search coded in Python
10:47 Final thoughts
11:59 Key questions
12:16 Essential algorithms for A Level Computer Science text book
13:20 Outro

Last updated: 27.07.26

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