Introduction to Tree Quiz
40 comprehensive questions exploring fundamental tree concepts, terminology, and real-world applications — with 16 code examples covering tree structures, node relationships, and basic tree properties in this cpp quiz.
40 Questions
~80 minutes
1
Question 1
What is a tree data structure?
A
A hierarchical data structure with nodes connected by edges, having one root node and no cycles
B
A linear data structure like arrays
C
A data structure that allows cycles
D
A data structure with multiple root nodes
2
Question 2
What is the root node in a tree?
A
The topmost node in the tree hierarchy that has no parent, serving as the starting point for all tree traversals and operations
B
The bottom node in the tree
C
Any node with children
D
A node with no children
3
Question 3
In a file system directory structure, how would you represent the relationship between directories and files?
text
root/
├── documents/
│ ├── report.txt
│ └── presentation.pdf
└── pictures/
└── vacation.jpgA
Directory structure naturally forms a tree with root directory as root node, subdirectories as internal nodes, and files as leaf nodes, creating hierarchical organization for file system navigation
B
File systems use linear structures
C
Files and directories are stored flat
D
Directory structures cannot be represented as trees
4
Question 4
What is a leaf node?
A
A node that has no children, representing the terminal points in the tree structure where hierarchical relationships end
B
The root node of the tree
C
Any node with exactly one child
D
A node with multiple parents
5
Question 5
What is the relationship between parent and child nodes?
A
Parent node is one level above child node in hierarchy, with child connected directly below parent, establishing the tree's hierarchical structure and relationships
B
Parent and child are the same node
C
Parent is below child in hierarchy
D
Parent-child relationships don't exist in trees
6
Question 6
In an organizational chart where CEO is at the top, how does the tree structure represent the company hierarchy?
A
CEO serves as root node with direct reports as children, creating hierarchical tree structure that accurately represents reporting relationships and organizational flow throughout the company
B
Organizational charts use circular structures
C
All employees are at the same level
D
Organizational charts cannot be represented as trees
7
Question 7
What is an edge in a tree?
text
A -- B -- C
| |
D EA
Connection between two nodes representing parent-child relationship, forming the links that create the tree's hierarchical structure and enable navigation between nodes
B
A node itself
C
The root node
D
A leaf node
8
Question 8
What makes a tree different from a graph?
A
Trees have no cycles and exactly one path between any two nodes, while graphs can have cycles and multiple paths, ensuring hierarchical structure without circular references
B
Trees can have cycles
C
Graphs have no cycles
D
Trees and graphs are identical
9
Question 9
What is the height of a tree?
A
The length of the longest path from root to leaf, measuring the maximum depth of the tree and indicating the number of levels in the hierarchy
B
The number of nodes in the tree
C
The number of leaf nodes
D
The number of edges in the tree
10
Question 10
In a decision tree for customer support where each question branches to more specific questions, how does the tree structure help?
A
Tree structure organizes questions hierarchically from general to specific, enabling systematic problem diagnosis through progressive refinement and eliminating irrelevant solution paths
B
Decision trees use linear question sequences
C
All questions are asked simultaneously
D
Decision trees don't use hierarchical structures
11
Question 11
What is a subtree in tree terminology?
text
A
/ \
B C
/ \ / \
D E F G
/
HA
Any node and all its descendants form a subtree, creating smaller tree structures within the larger tree that maintain all tree properties and relationships
B
Only the root node
C
Only the leaf nodes
D
Nodes at the same level
12
Question 12
How does a tree represent a mathematical expression like (a + b) * (c - d)?
A
Operators become internal nodes with operands as children, creating expression tree that naturally represents operator precedence and evaluation order through tree structure
B
Expressions are stored linearly
C
Operators and operands are mixed randomly
D
Mathematical expressions cannot be represented as trees
13
Question 13
What is the depth of a node in a tree?
A
The number of edges from root to that node, measuring how deep the node is in the tree hierarchy and its distance from the root
B
The number of children the node has
C
The height of the subtree rooted at that node
D
The total number of nodes in the tree
14
Question 14
In a family tree where each person has parents and children, how does the tree structure represent relationships?
A
Each person is a node with children as descendants and parents as ancestors, though family trees are often DAGs rather than strict trees due to multiple inheritance patterns
B
Family trees use linear structures
C
All family members are at the same level
D
Family relationships cannot be represented as trees
15
Question 15
What is the degree of a node?
text
A
/|\
B C D
|
EA
The number of children a node has, indicating how many subtrees are rooted at that node and measuring the branching factor at that point in the tree
B
The depth of the node
C
The height of the node
D
The total number of nodes in the tree
16
Question 16
How does a tree represent the hierarchical structure of a book with chapters, sections, and subsections?
A
Book becomes root with chapters as children, sections as grandchildren, and subsections as deeper descendants, creating natural hierarchical organization that mirrors document structure
B
Books use flat structures
C
All content is at the same level
D
Document hierarchies cannot be represented as trees
17
Question 17
What is a forest in tree terminology?
A
A collection of disjoint trees, representing separate hierarchical structures that are not connected, useful for modeling multiple independent hierarchies within one data structure
B
A single large tree
C
A tree with cycles
D
A tree with multiple roots
18
Question 18
In a programming language's abstract syntax tree (AST), how does the tree structure represent code?
A
Program structure becomes root with statements as children, expressions as subtrees, creating hierarchical representation that captures code syntax and execution order through tree relationships
B
Code is stored linearly
C
All code elements are at the same level
D
Code cannot be represented as trees
19
Question 19
What is the level of a node in a tree?
A
The depth of the node plus one, representing which horizontal layer the node occupies in the tree when visualized with root at level 1
B
The number of siblings the node has
C
The degree of the node
D
The height of the subtree rooted at the node
20
Question 20
How does a tree represent the breakdown of work in a project management system?
A
Project becomes root with major tasks as children, subtasks as grandchildren, creating work breakdown structure that shows dependencies and hierarchical task organization
B
Projects use linear task lists
C
All tasks are at the same level
D
Project structures cannot be represented as trees
21
Question 21
What is an ancestor node?
A
Any node on the path from root to a given node, including the node's parent, grandparent, and all nodes up to the root, representing the node's lineage in the hierarchy
B
Only the root node
C
Only the immediate parent
D
Nodes at the same level
22
Question 22
In a taxonomy system for classifying living organisms, how does the tree structure organize species?
A
Domain becomes root with kingdoms as children, phyla as grandchildren, creating hierarchical classification that accurately represents evolutionary relationships and taxonomic ranks
B
Organisms are classified linearly
C
All species are at the same taxonomic level
D
Biological classification cannot be represented as trees
23
Question 23
What is a descendant node?
text
A
/ \
B C
/ \
D EA
Any node in the subtree rooted at a given node, including the node's children, grandchildren, and all nodes below it in the hierarchy, representing the node's progeny
B
Only the immediate children
C
Only the leaf nodes
D
Nodes at the same level
24
Question 24
How does a tree represent the hierarchical structure of a company's product catalog?
A
Catalog becomes root with categories as children, subcategories as grandchildren, and individual products as leaves, creating browsable hierarchy for customer navigation and inventory management
B
Product catalogs use flat structures
C
All products are at the same level
D
Product catalogs cannot be represented as trees
25
Question 25
What is the path between two nodes in a tree?
A
The sequence of edges connecting the two nodes through their lowest common ancestor, representing the unique route between any two nodes in the acyclic tree structure
B
Any connection between nodes
C
Only direct parent-child connections
D
Paths don't exist in trees
26
Question 26
In a parse tree for natural language processing, how does the tree structure represent sentence grammar?
A
Sentence becomes root with phrases as children, words as leaves, creating syntactic structure that represents grammatical relationships and constituent hierarchies in language
B
Sentences are parsed linearly
C
All words are at the same grammatical level
D
Language parsing cannot be represented as trees
27
Question 27
What is the branching factor of a tree?
A
The maximum number of children any node in the tree can have, determining the maximum degree and influencing tree shape and operational complexity
B
The height of the tree
C
The number of leaf nodes
D
The depth of the root
28
Question 28
How does a tree represent the hierarchical structure of a book's table of contents?
A
Book title becomes root with chapters as children, sections as grandchildren, and subsections as deeper descendants, creating navigational hierarchy that mirrors document organization
B
Table of contents uses linear lists
C
All content sections are at the same level
D
Document tables of contents cannot be represented as trees
29
Question 29
What is a sibling node?
text
A
/|\
B C D
/ \
E FA
Nodes that share the same parent, representing branches at the same level in the hierarchy and having the same depth from the root
B
Nodes with no children
C
The root node and its children
D
Any two nodes in the tree
30
Question 30
In a decision support system for medical diagnosis, how does the tree structure help with diagnosis?
A
Symptoms become root with possible conditions as branches, test results as sub-branches, creating diagnostic tree that systematically narrows down possibilities through hierarchical elimination
B
Medical diagnosis uses linear checklists
C
All symptoms are considered equally
D
Medical diagnosis cannot be represented as trees
31
Question 31
What is the size of a tree?
A
The total number of nodes in the tree, representing the complete count of elements in the hierarchical structure and affecting memory usage and computational complexity
B
The height of the tree
C
The number of edges
D
The branching factor
32
Question 32
How does a tree represent the hierarchical structure of a programming project's module organization?
A
Main module becomes root with submodules as children, classes as grandchildren, and methods as leaves, creating code organization that reflects dependency relationships and encapsulation
B
Code is organized linearly
C
All code elements are at the same level
D
Code organization cannot be represented as trees
33
Question 33
What is the lowest common ancestor (LCA) of two nodes?
text
A
/ \
B C
/ \ / \
D E F G
/
HA
The deepest node that is ancestor to both nodes, serving as the closest common parent and defining the point where paths from root to both nodes converge
B
The root node always
C
The deeper of the two nodes
D
LCA doesn't exist in trees
34
Question 34
In a hierarchical menu system for a graphical user interface, how does the tree structure organize menu items?
A
Main menu becomes root with menu items as children, submenus as grandchildren, creating nested menu hierarchy that enables intuitive navigation and prevents menu clutter
B
Menus use linear lists
C
All menu items are at the same level
D
Menu systems cannot be represented as trees
35
Question 35
What is a complete binary tree?
A
A binary tree where every level is fully filled except possibly the last level, which is filled from left to right, optimizing space usage and enabling efficient array-based storage
B
A tree with no empty spaces
C
A tree where all nodes have two children
D
A tree with only leaf nodes
36
Question 36
How does a tree represent the hierarchical structure of a company's management reporting chain?
A
CEO becomes root with direct reports as children, their reports as grandchildren, creating organizational hierarchy that shows reporting relationships and spans of control
B
Companies use flat organizational structures
C
All employees report to everyone
D
Management structures cannot be represented as trees
37
Question 37
What is the difference between a tree and a graph?
A
Trees are connected acyclic graphs with hierarchical structure, while graphs can be disconnected and contain cycles, making trees suitable for hierarchical data while graphs handle complex relationships
B
Trees can have cycles
C
Graphs cannot have cycles
D
Trees and graphs are identical
38
Question 38
In a version control system like Git, how does the tree structure represent file changes?
A
Repository becomes root with directories as children, files as leaves, creating snapshot hierarchy that captures file system state at each commit point in version history
B
Version control uses linear change history
C
All files are stored flat
D
Version control cannot be represented as trees
39
Question 39
What is the width of a tree?
A
The maximum number of nodes at any level, indicating the broadest part of the tree and affecting visualization and certain algorithmic complexities
B
The height of the tree
C
The number of leaf nodes
D
The branching factor
40
Question 40
Considering tree data structures as a whole, what fundamental advantage do trees provide compared to linear data structures for hierarchical information?
A
Trees naturally represent hierarchical relationships with efficient access patterns, enabling fast navigation, search, and organization of nested data that linear structures cannot capture without complex indexing
B
Faster processing speed only
C
Automatic data sorting
D
Simpler implementation only