Insertion in BST in Data Structures Theory - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding BST Insertion Position

In a Binary Search Tree (BST), where is a new node inserted if its value is less than the current node's value?

A Always as the root node

B It replaces the current node

C As the right child or in the right subtree of the current node

D As the left child or in the left subtree of the current node

💡 Hint

Think about how BST keeps smaller values on one side.

In a BST, values smaller than a node go to the left subtree to maintain order.

📋 Factual

intermediate

Number of Children of a Newly Inserted Node in BST

When a new node is inserted into a BST, how many children does it have immediately after insertion?

A Two children

B One child

C No children (leaf node)

D Depends on the tree height

💡 Hint

New nodes start as leaves before any further insertions.

New nodes are inserted as leaf nodes, so they have no children initially.

🔍 Analysis

advanced

Resulting BST Structure After Insertions

Given an empty BST, nodes are inserted in this order: 10, 5, 15, 3, 7. What is the left child of the node with value 5?

A 7

B 3

C 10

D 15

💡 Hint

Visualize the tree after each insertion.

After inserting 5, 3 is inserted to the left of 5 because 3 < 5.

❓ Reasoning

advanced

Insertion Path in BST

When inserting a new value into a BST, which of the following best describes the path taken to find the insertion point?

A Traverse right if new value is greater, left if smaller

B Always traverse right regardless of value

C Always traverse left regardless of value

D Traverse left if new value is greater, right if smaller

💡 Hint

Remember the BST property about left and right children.

In BST, if the new value is greater than current node, go right; if smaller, go left.

🚀 Application

expert

Number of Nodes in BST After Insertions

Starting with an empty BST, you insert the values 8, 3, 10, 1, 6, 14, 4, 7, 13. How many nodes does the BST contain after all insertions?

A 9

B 8

C 10

D 7

💡 Hint

Count each unique insertion carefully.

Each value is unique and inserted once, so total nodes equal the number of inserted values: 9.