Assess students' ability to apply bubble, insertion, merge, and quicksort on small arrays: trace the step-by-step array states for given examples (e.g., random, nearly sorted, reverse), count comparisons and swaps for each run, and explain observed time/space behavior. Require justification of which algorithm is best for each scenario based on performance trade-offs (stability, worst/average/best cases, memory), with concise complexity reasoning for each choice.