Binary search tree: smaller left, larger right
Values 50, 30, 70, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 35 are inserted one at a time into a binary search tree, with each comparison step highlighted to show how the tree takes shape. A search for 35 then traces the same logic, reaching it in four comparisons. The animation contrasts this balanced case, where operations run in O(log n), with a sorted-input case that degenerates into a linear chain, useful for students learning BST behavior and worst-case complexity.
16:9 · Preview before teaching · automatic layout checks do not establish subject accuracy
The prompt that made it
Inserting 50, 30, 70, 20, 40, 60, 80, 35 one at a time with the comparison path highlighted, then searching for 35 in four comparisons; O(log n) when balanced, a chain when input is sorted.
Make the next one in this series
- Show how tree rotations rebalance a skewed BST after sorted insertions
- Compare BST search time growth to a hash table lookup on the same data
- Animate deletion of a node with two children and the successor replacement rule
