## Key Concepts

Review core concepts you need to learn to master this subject

### Big-Θ Notation

We compute the big-Θ of an algorithm by counting the number of iterations the algorithm always takes with an input of n. For instance, the loop in the pseudo code below will always iterate N times for a list size of N. The runtime can be described as Θ(N).

``````.gamut-clns7e-ColorizedContainer-fontSmoothing{display:block;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;background-color:#211E2F;color:#939598;font-family:Monaco,Menlo,"Ubuntu Mono","Droid Sans Mono",Consolas,monospace;font-size:0.875rem;padding:1rem;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:pre-wrap;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing:grayscale;}for each item in list:
print item``````
Asymptotic Notation: Conceptual
Lesson 1 of 1
1. 1
Cheetahs. Ferraris. Life. All are fast, but how do you know which one is the fastest? You can measure a cheetah’s and a Ferrari’s speed with a speedometer. You can measure life with years and month…
2. 2
The first subtype of asymptotic notation we will explore is big Theta (denoted by Θ). We use big Theta when a program has only one case in term of runtime. But what exactly does that mean? Take a …
3. 3
Before we delve into the multiple runtime cases, let’s see the different common runtimes a program could have. Below is a list of common runtimes that run from fastest to slowest. - Θ(1). This…
4. 4
Sometimes, a program may have a different runtime for the best case and worst case. For instance, a program could have a best case runtime of Θ(1) and a worst case of Θ(N). We use a different notat…
5. 5
Sometimes, a program has so much going on that it’s hard to find the runtime of it. Take a look at the pseudocode program that first prints all the positive values up to N and then returns the numb…
6. 6
Let’s review what we learned: - We use asymptotic notation to describe the runtime of a program. The three types of asymptotic notation are big Theta, big Omega, and big O. - We use big Theta (Θ) t…

## How you'll master it

Stress-test your knowledge with quizzes that help commit syntax to memory
{"found_math": false, "script_math_tex": 0, "script_math_asciimath": 0, "math_annotations": 0, "math_alttext": 0, "mathml": 0, "mathjax_tag": 0, "mathjax_inline_tex": 0, "mathjax_display_tex": 0, "mathjax_asciimath": 0, "img_math": 0, "codecogs_latex": 0, "wp_latex": 0, "mimetex.cgi": 0, "/images/math/codecogs": 0, "mathtex.cgi": 0, "katex": 0, "math-container": 0, "wp-katex-eq": 0, "align": 0, "equation": 0, "x-ck12": 0, "texerror": 0}