What is the main property that distinguishes an AVL tree from a regular binary search tree?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the main property that distinguishes an AVL tree from a regular binary search tree?
It is always balanced with a height difference of at most 1
It allows duplicate values
It can have any height difference
It is implemented using linked lists
An AVL tree maintains a balance factor of -1, 0, or 1 for every node, ensuring that the tree remains balanced.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: What is the main property that distinguishes an AVL tree from a regular binary search tree?
Solution: An AVL tree maintains a balance factor of -1, 0, or 1 for every node, ensuring that the tree remains balanced.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand what a binary search tree (BST) is. A BST is a tree where for each node, all values in the left subtree are smaller, and all values in the right subtree are larger.
Step 2: Learn about the balance factor. The balance factor of a node in a tree is calculated as the height of the left subtree minus the height of the right subtree.
Step 3: Know the balance factor values for AVL trees. In an AVL tree, the balance factor can only be -1, 0, or 1.
Step 4: Recognize the importance of the balance factor. This balance factor ensures that the tree remains balanced, which helps keep operations like search, insert, and delete efficient.
Step 5: Compare with a regular BST. A regular BST does not have this balance factor requirement, which can lead to an unbalanced tree and inefficient operations.
