This question evaluates understanding of tree data structures, connectivity after node deletions, and optimization for minimizing additional removals, and is categorized under Coding & Algorithms. It is commonly asked to assess reasoning about tree pruning and height computation under constraints, testing both conceptual understanding of tree properties and practical algorithmic implementation.
You are given a rooted tree (not necessarily binary). Each node has a list of children. Some nodes are marked as deleted = true.
Define the effective tree as the tree after removing every deleted node and all edges incident to it; nodes that become disconnected from the root are not counted.
K
, delete the
minimum number of additional nodes
(you may choose any nodes to delete) so that the height of the effective tree is
at most K
. Return that minimum number of additional deletions.
Clarify in your solution what “deleting a node” means (assume a deleted node is removed and you cannot traverse through it from the root).