Western Governors University (WGU) ICSC2100 C949 Data Structures and Algorithms I Practice Exam

A linked list is a fundamental data structure that consists of nodes, where each node contains two key components: a data item and a reference (or pointer) to the next node in the sequence. This structure allows for efficient insertion and deletion of elements, as elements can be easily added or removed by adjusting the references without the need to shift other elements, which is often required in contiguous structures like arrays.

In a linked list, the first node is called the head, and it allows access to the entire list by following the references from one node to the next until the end is reached, which is indicated by a node that references null (or a similar indicator). This characteristic of having distinct nodes linked by references facilitates dynamic memory usage, as the size of a linked list can grow and shrink depending on the number of elements it contains at any given time.

In contrast, a tree structure involves multiple nodes with parents and children, not just a single reference to the next node. An array encapsulates elements in contiguous memory locations with a fixed size, limiting dynamic growth and requiring more complex operations for insertion and deletion. A queue is a specific linear structure that typically follows a first-in-first-out (FIFO) order but can be implemented using a linked list or an