This document discusses the merge sort algorithm for sorting a sequence of numbers. It begins by introducing the divide and conquer approach, which merge sort uses. It then provides an example of how merge sort works, dividing the sequence into halves, sorting the halves recursively, and then merging the sorted halves together. The document proceeds to provide pseudocode for the merge sort and merge algorithms. It analyzes the running time of merge sort using recursion trees, determining that it runs in O(n log n) time. Finally, it covers techniques for solving recurrence relations that arise in algorithms like divide and conquer approaches.