Western Governors University (WGU) ICSC2100 C949 Data Structures and Algorithms I Practice Exam

The traversal method that visits nodes in the order of left, root, right is known as in-order traversal. This method is particularly significant when dealing with binary search trees (BST). In a BST, performing an in-order traversal yields the nodes in ascending order.

During the in-order traversal, each node is processed after its left subtree has been visited but before its right subtree, ensuring that the left child is always visited prior to the parent node and the right child is visited afterward. This systematic approach not only helps in sorting the nodes but is also a fundamental aspect of binary tree operations, making it essential for various algorithms related to tree data structures.

In contrast, pre-order traversal visits the nodes in the order of root, left, right, while post-order traversal follows the order of left, right, root. Breadth-first traversal, on the other hand, explores nodes level by level from top to bottom, which is quite different from the depth-first method of in-order traversal. Each of these traversals serves different purposes in the context of tree data structures, highlighting the importance of understanding their distinct traversal orders.