(SEM III) THEORY EXAMINATION 2018-19 DATA STRUCTURES

The uploaded document is a B.Tech Semester III Theory Examination Question Paper (Academic Year 2018–2019) for the subject DATA STRUCTURES with the Sub Code RCS305. It is a 2-page official university exam paper designed to test a student’s understanding of core data structure concepts, algorithms, and their applications.

The question paper is structured in a traditional engineering-exam format and is divided into three major sections: A, B, and C, each focusing on different depths of knowledge. The exam has a total of 70 marks and must be completed in 3 hours.

SECTION A — Short Answer Questions (2 × 7 = 14 marks)

This section contains seven brief questions, each requiring concise but conceptually clear explanations.
The questions test fundamental understanding of:

Graph representation in memory (adjacency list, adjacency matrix)

Circular queue operations (syntax for checking full/empty)

Binary tree construction from given expression

Overflow & underflow in linked lists

Stable and in-place sorting methods

Depth and node calculations in a complete binary tree

Definition & drawbacks of recursion

These topics represent the building blocks of data structures and check the student’s theoretical foundation.

SECTION B — Long Answer / Analytical Questions (7 × 3 = 21 marks)

Students must attempt any three of the five questions.
This section requires derivations, algorithm explanations, and problem-solving steps.

Topics include:

Time–space complexity trade-off and detailed explanation of asymptotic notations such as Big-O, Theta, Omega.

Infix to postfix expression conversion using stack operations.

In-depth analysis of data structure principles (as visible from questions related to algorithmic steps and transformations).

These questions measure a student’s understanding of algorithm efficiency, expression evaluation, and the logic behind computational processes.

SECTION C — Application-Based Questions (7 marks each)

This is the most extensive part of the exam.
Each question has two alternatives (a or b) and students must choose one.

Important themes across this section:

3. Linked Lists and Multidimensional Arrays

Writing a C program to delete a node from a singly linked list.

Comparing single vs double linked lists with real-world reasoning.

Solving multidimensional array index calculations in column-major order, including:

Dimension length

Total number of elements

Effective index computation using base address and element width

4. Tower of Hanoi & Circular Queue

Explaining the Tower of Hanoi problem with a recursive algorithm.

Implementing a circular queue using arrays and writing complete functions for enqueue, dequeue, and other operations.

5. Binary Search Tree (BST)

Writing the algorithm for deletion of a node in BST.

Constructing a BST using given In-order and Preorder traversals.

Finding the post-order traversal from given sequences.

6. Dijkstra’s Algorithm & Shortest Path

Using vertex-by-vertex selection to find shortest paths from a source.

Explaining step-by-step working of Dijkstra’s shortest path algorithm.

Overall Summary

This question paper assesses a complete spectrum of data structures knowledge—from foundational definitions to advanced algorithmic problem-solving. It includes:

Conceptual understanding

C programming application

Algorithm design

Mathematically computed results

Tree and graph-based reasoning

The document is suitable for students preparing for university exams, competitive exams, or technical interviews related to data structures, algorithms, and computer science fundamentals.