Some popular interview problems on MST

What is Minimum Spanning Tree (MST)

A minimum spanning tree (MST) is defined as a spanning tree that has the minimum weight among all the possible spanning trees

A spanning tree is defined as a tree-like subgraph of a connected, undirected graph that includes all the vertices of the graph. Or, to say in Layman’s words, it is a subset of the edges of the graph that forms a tree (acyclic) where every node of the graph is a part of the tree.

The minimum spanning tree has all the properties of a spanning tree with an added constraint of having the minimum possible weights among all possible spanning trees. Like a spanning tree, there can also be many possible MSTs for a graph.

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Properties of a Spanning Tree:

The spanning tree holds the below-mentioned principles:...

Minimum Spanning Tree:

A minimum spanning tree (MST) is defined as a spanning tree that has the minimum weight among all the possible spanning trees....

Algorithms to find Minimum Spanning Tree:

There are several algorithms to find the minimum spanning tree from a given graph, some of them are listed below:...

Boruvka’s Minimum Spanning Tree Algorithm:

This is also a graph traversal algorithm used to find the minimum spanning tree of a connected, undirected graph. This is one of the oldest algorithms. The algorithm works by iteratively building the minimum spanning tree, starting with each vertex in the graph as its own tree. In each iteration, the algorithm finds the cheapest edge that connects a tree to another tree, and adds that edge to the minimum spanning tree. This is almost similar to the Prim’s algorithm for finding the minimum spanning tree. The algorithm has the following workflow:...

Applications of Minimum Spanning Trees:

Network design: Spanning trees can be used in network design to find the minimum number of connections required to connect all nodes. Minimum spanning trees, in particular, can help minimize the cost of the connections by selecting the cheapest edges. Image processing: Spanning trees can be used in image processing to identify regions of similar intensity or color, which can be useful for segmentation and classification tasks. Biology: Spanning trees and minimum spanning trees can be used in biology to construct phylogenetic trees to represent evolutionary relationships among species or genes. Social network analysis: Spanning trees and minimum spanning trees can be used in social network analysis to identify important connections and relationships among individuals or groups....

Some popular interview problems on MST

1. Find the Minimum Cost to Connect All Cities Practice 2. Detect Cycle in an Undirected Graph Practice 3. Bridge in a Graph Practice 4. Minimum Product Spanning Tree Practice 5. Maximum Spanning Tree using Kruskal’s Algorithm Practice 6. Second Minimum Spanning Tree Practice 7. Steiner Tree Practice 8. Find the weight of the minimum spanning tree Practice 9. Second Best Minimum Spanning Tree Practice 10. Minimum spanning tree cost of given Graphs Practice...

Some FAQs about Minimum Spanning Trees:

1. Can there be multiple minimum-spanning trees for a given graph?...