How many swaps are needed to sort the array {3, 1, 5, 2, 4} using Selection…

The correct answer is 4 swaps.

Here is the step-by-step breakdown of how the Selection Sort algorithm sorts the array {3, 1, 5, 2, 4}:

Initial Array: [3, 1, 5, 2, 4]

Pass 1:

• Find the minimum element in the entire array [3, 1, 5, 2, 4]. The minimum is 1.

• Swap it with the first element (3).

• Array becomes: [1, 3, 5, 2, 4]

• Total Swaps: 1

Pass 2:

• Find the minimum element in the remaining unsorted part [3, 5, 2, 4]. The minimum is 2.

• Swap it with the first unsorted element (3).

• Array becomes: [1, 2, 5, 3, 4]

• Total Swaps: 2

Pass 3:

• Find the minimum element in the remaining unsorted part [5, 3, 4]. The minimum is 3.

• Swap it with the first unsorted element (5).

• Array becomes: [1, 2, 3, 5, 4]

• Total Swaps: 3

Pass 4:

• Find the minimum element in the remaining unsorted part [5, 4]. The minimum is 4.

• Swap it with the first unsorted element (5).

• Array becomes: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

• Total Swaps: 4

After 4 passes, the last element (5) is automatically in its correct position. The array is completely sorted with exactly 4 swaps.