Maxima & minima of an array [closed]

Question

An array of n numbers is given, where n is an even number. The maximum as well as the minimum of these n numbers needs to be determined.I need to know the comparisions needed?

Answer 1

It can be done using 3*n/2-2 comparisons.

For n == 2, simply compare the two numbers. Now suppose we have minimum and maximum for the first n-2 numbers. Compare the remaining two numbers, then compare the bigger one to the previous maximum and the smaller to the previous minimum.