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Advanced - Arrays, Sorting and Searching · 3:52

Ternary Search and Golden-Section Search

Ternary search finds the peak of a strictly unimodal function by comparing two probes and dropping a third of the interval each step. We run it on a parabola, use fixed iteration counts instead of epsilon loops, handle integer arguments, switch to golden-section search to reuse one probe per step, and watch a plateau break the method.

You will learn

Apply ternary search to a strictly unimodal function and explain which part each comparison discards
Use a fixed number of iterations for real arguments and the r - l < 3 rule (or a slope binary search) for integers
Explain how golden-section search reuses one probe per step and when that matters
Recognise when ternary search fails: plateaus and functions that are not strictly unimodal

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