Why does ArrayList work faster than LinkedList during sequential iteration?

ArrayList works faster during sequential iteration because it stores elements in a contiguous block of memory (an array). This provides better data locality and allows the CPU to efficiently cache and predict accesses.

On the other hand, LinkedList consists of nodes linked by pointers, which can be located in different places in memory. During iteration, there are many pointer dereferences, which reduces cache performance and slows down traversal.

Example:

• ArrayList: elements are stored consecutively, iteration is a simple pass through the array.
• LinkedList: each element is a separate object, and iteration requires following links.