What is the time complexity of finding the maximum element in a binary search tr
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the time complexity of finding the maximum element in a binary search tree (BST)?
O(1)
O(log n)
O(n)
O(n log n)
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the time complexity of finding the maximum element in a binary search tree (BST)?
Step 1: Understand what a binary search tree (BST) is. A BST is a tree 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: Identify where the maximum element is located in a BST. The maximum element is always found at the rightmost node of the tree.
Step 3: To find the maximum element, start at the root of the BST.
Step 4: Move to the right child of the current node. Repeat this step until you reach a node that does not have a right child.
Step 5: The node you reach that has no right child is the maximum element in the BST.
Step 6: Count the number of steps taken to reach the maximum element. In a balanced BST, this will be proportional to the height of the tree, which is O(log n) where n is the number of nodes.
