250+ TOP MCQs on Sum of n Natural Numbers using Recursion and Answers

Data Structure Questions and Answers for Aptitude test on “Sum of n Natural Numbers using Recursion”.

1. Which of the following option is wrong about natural numbers?
a) Sum of first n natural numbers can be calculated by using Iteration method
b) Sum of first n natural numbers can be calculated by using Recursion method
c) Sum of first n natural numbers can be calculated by using Binomial coefficient method
d) No method is prescribed to calculate sum of first n natural number

Answer: d
Clarification: All of the above mentioned methods can be used to find the sum of first n natural numbers.

2. Which of the following gives the sum of the first n natural numbers?
a) nC2
b) (n-1)C2
c) (n+1)C2
d) (n+2)C2
Answer: c
Clarification: The sum of first n natural numbers is given by n*(n+1)/2, which is equal to (n+1)C2.

3. Consider the following iterative solution to find the sum of first n natural numbers:

#include
int get_sum(int n)
{
      int sm = 0, i;
      for(i = 1; i <= n; i++)
        ________;
      return sm;
}
int main()
{
    int n = 10;
    int ans = get_sum(n);
    printf("%d",ans);
    return 0;
}

Which of the following lines completes the above code?
a) sm = i
b) sm += i
c) i = sm
d) i += sm

Answer: b
Clarification: The line “sm += i” completes the above code.

4. What is the output of the following code?

#include
int get_sum(int n)
{
      int sm, i;
      for(i = 1; i <= n; i++)
        sm += i;
      return sm;
}
int main()
{
    int n = 10;
    int ans = get_sum(n);
    printf("%d",ans);
    return 0;
}

a) 55
b) 45
c) 35
d) Depends on compiler

Answer: d
Clarification: Since the variable “sm” is not initialized to 0, it will produce a garbage value. Some compiler will automatically initialises variables to 0 if not initialised. In that case the value is 55. Hence the value depends on the compiler.

5. What is the time complexity of the following iterative method used to find the sum of the first n natural numbers?

#include
int get_sum(int n)
{
      int sm, i;
      for(i = 1; i <= n; i++)
        sm += i;
      return sm;
}
int main()
{
    int n = 10;
    int ans = get_sum(n);
    printf("%d",ans);
    return 0;
}

a) O(1)
b) O(n)
c) O(n²)
d) O(n³)

Answer: b
Clarification: The time complexity of the above iterative method used to find the sum of first n natural numbers is O(n).

6. Consider the following code:

#include
int recursive_sum(int n)
{
      if(n == 0)
        return 0;
      return ________;
}
int main()
{
    int n = 5;
    int ans = recursive_sum(n);
    printf("%d",ans);
    return 0;
}

Which of the following lines is the recurrence relation for the above code?
a) (n – 1) +recursive_sum(n)
b) n + recursive_sum(n)
c) n + recursive_sum(n – 1)
d) (n – 1) + recursive_sum(n – 1)

Answer: c
Clarification: The recurrence relation for the above code is: n + recursive_sum(n – 1).

7. Consider the following code:

#include
int recursive_sum(int n)
{
      if(n == 0)
        return 0;
      return n + recursive_sum(n - 1);
}
int main()
{
     int n = 5;
     int ans = recursive_sum(n);
     printf("%d",ans);
     return 0;
}

Which of the following is the base case for the above recursive code?
a) if(n == 0)
b) return 0
c) return n + recursive_sum(n – 1)
d) if(n == 1)

Answer: a
Clarification: “if(n == 0)” is the base case for the above recursive code.

8. What is the time complexity of the following recursive implementation used to find the sum of the first n natural numbers?

#include
int recursive_sum(int n)
{
      if(n == 0)
        return 0;
      return n + recursive_sum(n - 1);
}
int main()
{
     int n = 5;
     int ans = recursive_sum(n);
     printf("%d",ans);
     return 0;
}

a) O(1)
b) O(n)
c) O(n²)
d) O(n³)
Answer: b
Clarification: The time complexity of the above recursive implementation used to find the sum of first n natural numbers is O(n).

9. Which of the following methods used to find the sum of first n natural numbers has the least time complexity?
a) Recursion
b) Iteration
c) Binomial coefficient
d) All have equal time complexity
View Answer

Answer: c
Clarification: Recursion and iteration take O(n) time to find the sum of first n natural numbers while binomial coefficient takes O(1) time.

10. What is the output of the following code?

#include
int recursive_sum(int n)
{
      if(n == 0)
        return 0;
      return n + recursive_sum(n - 1);
}
int main()
{
      int n = 5;
      int ans = recursive_sum(n);
      printf("%d",ans);
      return 0;
}

a) 10
b) 15
c) 21
d) 14
Answer: b
Clarification: The above code prints the sum of first 5 natural numbers, which is 15.

11. How many times is the function recursive_sum() called when the following code is executed?

#include
int recursive_sum(int n)
{
      if(n == 0)
        return 0;
      return n + recursive_sum(n - 1);
}
int main()
{
     int n = 5;
     int ans = recursive_sum(n);
     printf("%d",ans);
     return 0;
}

a) 4
b) 5
c) 6
d) 7

Answer: c
Clarification: The function recursive_sum is called 6 times when the following code is executed.

12. What is the output of the following code?

#include
int recursive_sum(int n)
{
      if(n == 0)
        return 0;
      return n + recursive_sum(n - 1);
}
int main()
{
     int n = 0;
     int ans = recursive_sum(n);
     printf("%d",ans);
     return 0;
}

a) -1
b) 0
c) 1
d) runtime error

Answer: b
Clarification: The program prints the sum of first 0 natural numbers, which is 0.

13. What is the output of the following code?

#include
int recursive_sum(int n)
{
      if(n == 0)
        return 0;
      return n + recursive_sum(n - 1);
}
int main()
{
     int n = -4;
     int ans = recursive_sum(n);
     printf("%d",ans);
     return 0;
}

a) 0
b) -10
c) 1
d) runtime error
Answer: d
Clarification: The above code doesn’t handle the case of negative numbers and so the function recursive_sum() will be called again and again till the stack overflows and the program produces a runtime error.