Selection sort: find the smallest, put it in place
This animation visualizes selection sort by highlighting the unsorted portion of an array, using a yellow scan cursor to sweep through and track the current minimum in a red box. Once found, the minimum swaps into place at the front of the unsorted section. The animation emphasizes that comparisons always total n(n-1)/2 regardless of input, while swaps are bounded by n-1, making it useful for teaching algorithm analysis and comparing sorting efficiency.
16:9 · Preview before teaching · automatic layout checks do not establish subject accuracy
The prompt that made it
Selection sort scans the unsorted part for its minimum (red box) with a moving scan cursor (yellow) and swaps it to the front; always n(n-1)/2 comparisons but at most n-1 swaps.
Make the next one in this series
- Compare selection sort and bubble sort swap counts side by side on the same array
- Show best case and worst case scenarios for insertion sort with the same visual style
- Visualize how selection sort performance changes with nearly sorted versus reverse sorted input
