Min Heap vs Max Heap When to Use Which in DSA Javascript - Interactive Comparison Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to create a min heap by using the correct comparison operator.

DSA Javascript

function compare(a, b) { return a [1] b; } // For min heap

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A>

B<

C===

D!=

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '>' instead of '<' will create a max heap instead.

For a min heap, the comparison should return true when a is less than b, so the smallest element rises to the top.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to create a max heap by using the correct comparison operator.

DSA Javascript

function compare(a, b) { return a [1] b; } // For max heap

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A<

B===

C>

D!=

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '<' instead of '>' will create a min heap instead.

For a max heap, the comparison should return true when a is greater than b, so the largest element rises to the top.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code that builds a min heap by choosing the correct comparison operator.

DSA Javascript

function buildHeap(arr) { return arr.sort((a, b) => a [1] b ? -1 : 1); } // Min heap

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A>

B!=

C===

D<

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '>' sorts descending, which is for max heap.

Sorting with a < b ensures the smallest elements come first, which is needed for a min heap.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to complete the function that decides which heap to use based on the need for smallest or largest element retrieval.

DSA Javascript

function chooseHeap(type) {
  if (type === 'min') return [1];
  else if (type === 'max') return [2];
  else return null;
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AMinHeap

BMaxHeap

CHeap

DPriorityQueue

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Returning generic Heap or PriorityQueue instead of specific heap types.

Return MinHeap when the smallest element is needed, and MaxHeap when the largest element is needed.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to complete the code that inserts a new element into a heap and maintains the heap property.

DSA Javascript

function insert(heap, element) {
  heap.push(element);
  let index = heap.length - 1;
  while (index > 0) {
    let parent = Math.floor((index - 1) / 2);
    if (heap[parent] [1] heap[index]) break;
    [heap[parent], heap[index]] = [heap[index], heap[parent]];
    index = parent;
  }
  return heap;
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A<

B>

C<=

D>=

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '>' instead of '<' breaks max heap property.

For a max heap insertion, swap if parent is less than child (parent < child), so the largest element stays on top.