Question

To sort N numbers, bubble sort continues making passes through the array until _______.

Short answer

Answer: The bubble sort algorithm stops making passes through the array when no swaps are needed in a complete pass, indicating that the array is already sorted.

Step-by-step solution

Understand the Bubble Sort Algorithm

The bubble sort algorithm compares each pair of adjacent elements in an array and swaps them if they are in the wrong order. This is done repeatedly until the algorithm has made a complete pass through the array without having to make any swaps, which indicates that the array is sorted.

Recognize the Stopping Condition

The stopping condition for the bubble sort algorithm is when it has made a complete pass through the array without having to make any swaps. This means that, during a pass, if no elements were swapped, the algorithm stops because the array is already sorted. Hence, the bubble sort continues making passes through the array until no swaps are needed in a complete pass.