What is the main advantage of using BFS for searching in a graph?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the main advantage of using BFS for searching in a graph?
It uses less memory than DFS
It guarantees the shortest path in unweighted graphs
It is easier to implement
It can handle cycles better than DFS
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the main advantage of using BFS for searching in a graph?
Step 1: Understand what BFS (Breadth-First Search) is. It is a method for exploring a graph or tree by starting at a root node and exploring all its neighbors before moving to the next level of nodes.
Step 2: Recognize that BFS explores nodes level by level. This means it looks at all nodes that are one step away from the starting point before looking at nodes that are two steps away.
Step 3: Know that in an unweighted graph, all edges (connections between nodes) are considered equal. This means that moving from one node to another takes the same amount of 'effort' or 'cost'.
Step 4: Realize that because BFS explores all nodes at the current depth first, it will find the shortest path to a target node if there is one. This is because it will reach the target node using the fewest number of edges.
Step 5: Conclude that the main advantage of BFS is its ability to guarantee the shortest path in unweighted graphs.