In a binary search tree, what is the average time complexity for searching an el
Practice Questions
Q1
In a binary search tree, what is the average time complexity for searching an element?
O(1)
O(log n)
O(n)
O(n log n)
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
In a binary search tree, what is the average time complexity for searching an element?
Step 1: Understand what a binary search tree (BST) is. A BST is a data structure where each node has at most two children, and the left child is less than the parent node, while the right child is greater.
Step 2: Know that searching in a BST involves comparing the target value with the current node's value.
Step 3: If the target value is less than the current node's value, move to the left child. If it's greater, move to the right child.
Step 4: Repeat this process until you find the target value or reach a leaf node (a node with no children).
Step 5: In a balanced BST, the height of the tree is log(n), where n is the number of nodes. This is because each comparison effectively halves the number of nodes to search through.
Step 6: Therefore, the average time complexity for searching an element in a balanced binary search tree is O(log n).
