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What is the worst-case time complexity of searching for an element in a balanced binary search tree in the worst case?Group of answer choicesO(1)O(n^2)O(n)O(log n)

Question

What is the worst-case time complexity of searching for an element in a balanced binary search tree in the worst case?Group of answer choicesO(1)O(n^2)O(n)O(log n)

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Solution

The worst-case time complexity of searching for an element in a balanced binary search tree is O(log n).

Here's why:

  1. A binary search tree (BST) is a tree data structure in which each node has at most two children, referred to as the left child and the right child.

  2. For each node, all elements in the left subtree are less than the node, and all elements in the right subtree are greater.

  3. Therefore, when you search for an element, you start from the root and move to the left or right child depending on whether the element is smaller or larger than the root.

  4. In a balanced BST, the number of elements in the left and right subtrees of any node differ by at most one. This ensures that the tree has the minimum possible height, which is log(n) where n is the number of elements.

  5. Therefore, in the worst case, you have to traverse a path from the root to the deepest leaf node. Since the tree is balanced, the length of this path is proportional to the height of the tree, which is log(n).

  6. Hence, the worst-case time complexity of searching for an element in a balanced binary search tree is O(log n).

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