n If there are n elements in the list, the outer loop is performed n-1 times.  The inner loop is performed n-first times. i.e. time= 1, n-1 times; time=2, n-2 times; … time=n-2, 1 times. n (n-1)x(n-first) = (n-1)+(n-2)+…+2+1 = (n2-n)/2 n As n increases, the time to sort the list goes up by this factor (order n2).