What is the worst-case time complexity for inserting an element in a binary search tree?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the worst-case time complexity for inserting an element in a binary search tree?
O(log n)
O(n)
O(n log n)
O(1)
The worst-case time complexity for inserting an element in a binary search tree is O(n), which occurs when the tree is unbalanced.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: What is the worst-case time complexity for inserting an element in a binary search tree?
Solution: The worst-case time complexity for inserting an element in a binary search tree is O(n), which occurs when the tree is unbalanced.
Steps: 6
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 inserting an element means placing a new value in the correct position in the tree according to the BST rules.
Step 3: Realize that the time it takes to insert an element depends on how many nodes you have to check before finding the right spot for the new element.
Step 4: In the best case, the tree is balanced, and you can find the right spot quickly, which takes O(log n) time.
Step 5: In the worst case, the tree is unbalanced (like a linked list), and you have to check every node to find the right spot, which takes O(n) time.
Step 6: Conclude that the worst-case time complexity for inserting an element in a binary search tree is O(n).
