Check if Number is Even or Odd Using Bits in DSA Typescript - Time & Space Complexity

Time Complexity: Check if Number is Even or Odd Using Bits

O(1)

Understanding Time Complexity

We want to know how fast we can check if a number is even or odd using bits.

How does the time needed change when the number gets bigger?

Scenario Under Consideration

Analyze the time complexity of the following code snippet.

function isEven(num: number): boolean {
  return (num & 1) === 0;
}

const result = isEven(42);
console.log(result);
    

This code checks if a number is even by looking at its last bit.

Identify Repeating Operations

Identify the loops, recursion, array traversals that repeat.

• Primary operation: A single bitwise AND operation.
• How many times: Exactly once per function call, no loops or recursion.

How Execution Grows With Input

Checking the last bit takes the same time no matter how big the number is.

Input Size (n)	Approx. Operations
10	1
100	1
1000	1

Pattern observation: The operation count stays the same regardless of input size.

Final Time Complexity

Time Complexity: O(1)

This means the check takes the same tiny amount of time no matter how big the number is.

Common Mistake

[X] Wrong: "Checking bits takes longer for bigger numbers because they have more bits."

[OK] Correct: The operation only looks at the last bit, so it always takes the same time.

Interview Connect

Knowing this quick bit check shows you understand how computers work with numbers efficiently.

Self-Check

"What if we checked if a number is divisible by 4 using bits? How would the time complexity change?"

Practice

1. What does the expression num & 1 check when determining if a number is even or odd?

easy

A. It checks if num is greater than 1.

B. It checks if the least significant bit of num is 1, indicating odd number.

C. It checks if num is divisible by 2 without remainder.

D. It checks if num is negative.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand bitwise AND with 1

   The expression num & 1 isolates the least significant bit (rightmost bit) of the number.

2. Step 2: Interpret the least significant bit

   If the least significant bit is 1, the number is odd; if 0, it is even.

3. Final Answer:

   It checks if the least significant bit of num is 1, indicating odd number. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   num & 1 = 1 means odd [OK]

Hint: Check last bit with & 1; 1 means odd, 0 means even [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking & 1 checks divisibility by 2
• Confusing bitwise AND with logical AND
• Assuming it checks if number is negative

2. Which of the following TypeScript code snippets correctly checks if a number n is even using bitwise operators?

easy

A. if ((n & 1) === 0) { console.log('Even'); } else { console.log('Odd'); }

B. if ((n | 1) === 0) { console.log('Even'); } else { console.log('Odd'); }

C. if ((n & 0) === 1) { console.log('Even'); } else { console.log('Odd'); }

D. if ((n ^ 1) === 0) { console.log('Even'); } else { console.log('Odd'); }

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand bitwise AND with 1

   The expression n & 1 extracts the least significant bit of n.

2. Step 2: Check if least significant bit is zero

   If (n & 1) === 0, the number is even; otherwise, it is odd.

3. Final Answer:

   if ((n & 1) === 0) { console.log('Even'); } else { console.log('Odd'); } -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use n & 1 === 0 for even check [OK]

Hint: Use (n & 1) === 0 to check even numbers [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using bitwise OR instead of AND
• Comparing with wrong values like 0 or 1 incorrectly
• Using XOR without understanding its effect

3. What will be the output of the following TypeScript code?

const numbers = [2, 3, 4, 5];
numbers.forEach(num => {
  if (num & 1) {
    console.log(num + ' is Odd');
  } else {
    console.log(num + ' is Even');
  }
});

medium

A. 2 is Odd
3 is Odd
4 is Odd
5 is Odd

B. 2 is Even
3 is Even
4 is Even
5 is Even

C. 2 is Odd
3 is Even
4 is Odd
5 is Even

D. 2 is Even
3 is Odd
4 is Even
5 is Odd

Solution

1. Step 1: Evaluate bitwise AND for each number

   For each number, num & 1 checks the last bit: 2 & 1 = 0 (even), 3 & 1 = 1 (odd), 4 & 1 = 0 (even), 5 & 1 = 1 (odd).

2. Step 2: Print corresponding output

   Numbers with num & 1 === 1 print 'Odd', others print 'Even'.

3. Final Answer:

   2 is Even 3 is Odd 4 is Even 5 is Odd -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Bitwise check matches even/odd output [OK]

Hint: Check each number's last bit; 1 means odd, 0 means even [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming all numbers are odd
• Confusing bitwise AND with logical AND
• Printing wrong labels for even/odd

4. Identify the error in this TypeScript code that tries to check if a number x is odd using bits:

function isOdd(x: number): boolean {
  return x & 1 === 1;
}

medium

A. The bitwise AND operator has lower precedence than ===, causing wrong evaluation.

B. The function should use bitwise OR instead of AND.

C. The function should return a string, not boolean.

D. There is no error; the code works correctly.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check operator precedence in expression

   Bitwise AND (&) has lower precedence than strict equality (===), so x & 1 === 1 is evaluated as x & (1 === 1).

2. Step 2: Understand the evaluation result

   1 === 1 is true, which converts to 1, so expression becomes x & 1. This returns a number, not a boolean, causing unexpected behavior.

3. Step 3: Fix the expression with parentheses

   Use parentheses: (x & 1) === 1 to ensure correct evaluation order.

4. Final Answer:

   The bitwise AND operator has lower precedence than ===, causing wrong evaluation. -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   Use parentheses: (x & 1) === 1 [OK]

Hint: Use parentheses around bitwise operation before comparison [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Ignoring operator precedence
• Using bitwise OR instead of AND
• Returning wrong data type

5. You want to filter an array of numbers to keep only the even ones using bitwise operations in TypeScript. Which code snippet correctly achieves this?

const nums = [10, 15, 22, 33, 40];
const evens = nums.filter( /* your code here */ );
console.log(evens);

hard

A. nums.filter(num => (num & 1) === 1)

B. nums.filter(num => (num | 1) === 0)

C. nums.filter(num => (num & 1) === 0)

D. nums.filter(num => (num ^ 1) === 0)

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand filtering condition for even numbers

   Even numbers have their least significant bit as 0, so (num & 1) === 0 checks for even numbers.

2. Step 2: Apply filter with correct condition

   Using nums.filter(num => (num & 1) === 0) returns only even numbers from the array.

3. Step 3: Verify output

   For [10, 15, 22, 33, 40], the filtered array is [10, 22, 40].

4. Final Answer:

   nums.filter(num => (num & 1) === 0) -> Option C

5. Quick Check:

   Filter even numbers with (num & 1) === 0 [OK]

Hint: Filter with (num & 1) === 0 to get even numbers [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using bitwise OR or XOR incorrectly
• Filtering for odd numbers instead of even
• Missing parentheses causing wrong evaluation