Binary Search for Coding Interviews Course Syllabus
Full curriculum breakdown — modules, lessons, estimated time, and outcomes.
Overview: This concise, hands-on course is designed to master binary search in just 3 hours, with a focus on real coding interview scenarios. You'll learn core concepts, explore key variants, and tackle special cases through interactive text-based lessons and AI-powered code feedback. Each module builds practical skills with targeted exercises, ensuring you can confidently handle common and tricky binary search problems in technical interviews.
Module 1: Core Concepts
Estimated time: 0.75 hours
- What Is Binary Search?
- Binary Search Algorithm Walkthrough
- Complexity Analysis
- Handling Off-by-One Errors
Module 2: Variants & Applications
Estimated time: 1.5 hours
- Insert Position
- First Element Equals Its Index
- Square Root of Integer
- Bitonic Point and Element in Bitonic Array
- Element Occurrence
Module 3: Rotated & Special Cases
Estimated time: 0.75 hours
- Minimum in Rotated Sorted Array
- Element in Rotated Sorted Array
- Single Element in a Sorted Array
Module 4: Edge Case Patterns
Estimated time: 0.5 hours
- Handling Duplicates in Binary Search
- Boundary Conditions and Infinite Loops
- Choosing Between Left and Right Midpoint
Module 5: Problem-Solving Strategies
Estimated time: 0.5 hours
- Template for General Binary Search
- Identifying Search Space Monotonicity
- Transforming Problems into Binary Search
Module 6: Final Project
Estimated time: 0.5 hours
- Implement Binary Search in a Real-World Scenario
- Solve a Combined Variant Problem
- Submit with AI Feedback and Optimization
Prerequisites
- Basic understanding of arrays and sorting
- Familiarity with a programming language (Python/Java/C++ preferred)
- Knowledge of loops and conditionals
What You'll Be Able to Do After
- Implement binary search correctly without off-by-one errors
- Solve common coding interview problems involving sorted arrays
- Apply binary search to rotated and bitonic arrays
- Handle edge cases like duplicates and single elements confidently
- Master time and space complexity analysis for all variants