If the function is called with a 2 digit decimal number, how many times will the while loop execute (maximum) if the loop halves the value each iteration until zero?

• A. 5
• B. 6
• C. 7
• D. 8

Answer: (C)

Halving repeatedly until you reach zero means you’re asking how many times you can divide the starting number by 2 (using integer division) before it becomes zero. After k iterations the value is roughly floor(n / 2^k), and you stop when that reaches zero, i.e., when n < 2^k.

The worst case for a two-digit number is the largest two-digit value, 99. Since 2^6 = 64 is still less than 99 but 2^7 = 128 is greater than 99, you need 7 halvings. The sequence shows the steps: 99 → 49 → 24 → 12 → 6 → 3 → 1 → 0, which is seven iterations.