Absolutely!

Here's a day-by-day plan to master tree data structures over the course of 3
weeks. This plan assumes you're starting from scratch with no prior knowledge of
trees, and your goal is to steadily build up your understanding while practicing regularly.

Week 1: Fundamentals of Trees and Basic Operations

Day 1: Introduction to Trees

• Concepts to Learn:

o What is a tree?

o Basic terminology: Root, Node, Leaf, Parent, Child, Height, Depth

o Types of trees (Binary Tree, Binary Search Tree)

• Practice: Write a simple Python class to represent a tree node.

Day 2: Understanding Binary Tree Structure

• Concepts to Learn:

o Binary Tree structure (each node has at most two children)

o Basic Binary Tree operations (creation, traversal)

• Practice: Implement a Binary Tree class with basic operations like adding nodes.

• LeetCode: Maximum Depth of Binary Tree

Day 3: Tree Traversals – Pre-order, In-order, Post-order and DFS

• Concepts to Learn:

o Tree traversal algorithms: Pre-order, In-order, Post-order (all are DFS

types)

o How DFS works in trees: Recursion vs. Iteration

o Implementing DFS in both recursive and iterative ways

o Recursion in tree traversal

• Practice: Implement all three tree traversals for Binary Tree in Python, including
an iterative DFS.

• LeetCode: Binary Tree Inorder Traversal

Day 4: Level Order Traversal (Breadth-First Search)

• Concepts to Learn:

o Level-order traversal (BFS)

 o Queue usage in BFS

• Practice: Implement Level-order traversal for Binary Tree.

• LeetCode: Binary Tree Level Order Traversal

Day 5: Binary Search Tree (BST) Introduction

• Concepts to Learn:

o What is a Binary Search Tree (BST)?

o Properties of BST (left < node < right)

o Basic operations: insertion, searching

• Practice: Implement a simple BST class in Python.

• LeetCode: Insert into a Binary Search Tree

Day 6: BST – Searching and Deletion

• Concepts to Learn:

o Searching in a Binary Search Tree (BST)

o Deleting a node from a BST

• Practice: Implement the search and delete functions for your BST class.

• LeetCode: Delete Node in a BST

Day 7: Recap and Practice

• Review all concepts learned in the first week.

• LeetCode: Solve easier problems related to Binary Trees and BST.

• LeetCode: Symmetric Tree

Week 2: Intermediate Concepts

Day 8: AVL Trees (Balanced BST) – Introduction

• Concepts to Learn:

o What is an AVL tree?

o AVL balance factor (left height - right height)

o Rotations (single and double)

• Practice: Implement basic rotations in AVL trees.

 • LeetCode: Start reading about AVL trees on GeeksforGeeks or watch a video.

Day 9: AVL Tree – Insertion and Rebalancing

• Concepts to Learn:

o AVL tree insertion (balancing during insertion)

o Rotations after insertion (single and double rotations)

• Practice: Implement AVL tree insertion with rebalancing.

• LeetCode: No problem, but try implementing insertion in your own AVL Tree.

Day 10: Red-Black Trees (Balanced Trees)

• Concepts to Learn:

o What is a Red-Black Tree?

o Properties of Red-Black Trees

o How red-black trees keep balance

• Practice: Study the theory and explore the properties.

• LeetCode: Start reading about Red-Black Trees (focus on theory for now).

Day 11: Heap (Binary Heap) Introduction

• Concepts to Learn:

o What is a Heap (Min-Heap and Max-Heap)?

o How a heap is represented as a complete binary tree

o Heap operations (insertion, extraction)

• Practice: Implement a Min-Heap in Python.

• LeetCode: Kth Largest Element in a Stream

Day 12: Heap Operations – Insertion, Deletion, Heapify

• Concepts to Learn:

o Insertion in a heap

o Deletion in a heap (removing the root)

o Heapify process

• Practice: Implement insert and delete operations for Min-Heap.

• LeetCode: Merge k Sorted Lists (Heap-based approach)

Day 13: Tries (Prefix Tree)

• Concepts to Learn:

o What is a Trie?

o Applications of Trie (e.g., autocomplete)

o Insert and search operations in Trie

• Practice: Implement a basic Trie class in Python.

• LeetCode: Implement Trie (Prefix Tree)

Day 14: Recap and Practice

• Review AVL Trees, Red-Black Trees, and Heaps.

• Solve a mix of LeetCode problems to reinforce your learning.

• LeetCode: Solve problems related to heaps and tries.

• LeetCode: Word Search II

Week 3: Advanced Concepts and Challenges

Day 15: Segment Trees – Introduction

• Concepts to Learn:

o What is a Segment Tree?

o Applications of Segment Tree (range queries)

o Building a Segment Tree

• Practice: Study the theory behind Segment Trees.

• LeetCode: Read tutorials or watch videos about Segment Trees.

Day 16: Segment Tree – Range Query and Updates

• Concepts to Learn:

o Implementing range queries in a Segment Tree

o Point updates in a Segment Tree

• Practice: Implement a Segment Tree for range sum queries.

• LeetCode: Solve problems using Segment Trees.

Day 17: Binary Indexed Tree (Fenwick Tree)

 • Concepts to Learn:

o What is a Fenwick Tree (Binary Indexed Tree)?

o Use cases (range sum queries)

o Building and updating the tree

• Practice: Implement a Fenwick Tree (Binary Indexed Tree) in Python.

• LeetCode: Range Sum Query – Mutable

Day 18: More Complex Tree Problems

• LeetCode:

o Flatten Binary Tree to Linked List

o Unique Binary Search Trees

Day 19: Review Advanced Trees and Problem Solving

• Review Segment Trees, Fenwick Trees, and other advanced tree concepts.

• Solve hard problems from LeetCode that involve trees.

Day 20: Solve More Medium/Hard LeetCode Tree Problems

• Focus on problems that combine multiple tree concepts.

• LeetCode: Binary Tree Maximum Path Sum

Day 21: Final Recap and Practice

• Review and consolidate everything you've learned.

• Solve multiple tree problems on LeetCode.

• Revisit any topics that feel unclear and rewatch videos if needed.

Final Tips:

• Don't rush: If a problem is tough, spend more time on it. Understanding the
solution and the reasoning behind it is more important than finishing quickly.

• Focus on patterns: Many tree problems have similar patterns (e.g., recursion,
divide-and-conquer), so identifying these will make your solving process faster.

• Track your progress: Keep a log of your problems solved and revisit tricky ones.
Good luck with your learning journey! By the end of this plan, you'll have a solid
understanding of tree data structures and be able to tackle both basic and advanced
problems with ease.
Additional Topics and Algorithms to Master Trees

1. Tree Height and Balance Checking

• Concepts to Learn:

o Height of a Tree: The number of edges from the root to the deepest leaf
node.

o Balanced Trees: Checking if a tree is height-balanced (difference

between left and right subtrees ≤ 1).

o Height Balance Check for AVL Trees: Understanding how AVL trees
maintain balance using height.

• Practice: Implement functions to compute the height of a tree and check if a

tree is balanced.

• LeetCode: Balanced Binary Tree

2. Lowest Common Ancestor (LCA)

• Concepts to Learn:

o Lowest Common Ancestor (LCA) of two nodes in a tree: The deepest

node that is an ancestor of both nodes.

o Efficient algorithms to find the LCA using parent pointers or recursive

DFS.

• Practice: Implement LCA for Binary Trees and Binary Search Trees.

• LeetCode: Lowest Common Ancestor of a Binary Tree

• LeetCode: Lowest Common Ancestor of a Binary Search Tree

3. Diameter of a Tree

• Concepts to Learn:

o The diameter of a tree is the length of the longest path between any two
nodes in the tree.

o This is often computed using a two-pass DFS approach.

• Practice: Implement an algorithm to calculate the diameter of a tree.

 • LeetCode: Diameter of Binary Tree

4. Tree Serialization and Deserialization

• Concepts to Learn:

o Serialization: Converting a tree into a string or array that can be stored or

transmitted.

o Deserialization: Rebuilding the tree from the serialized string or array.

• Practice: Implement serialization and deserialization for a binary tree.

• LeetCode: Serialize and Deserialize Binary Tree

5. Morris Traversal (Space-Efficient Traversal)

• Concepts to Learn:

o Morris Traversal: An in-order traversal of a binary tree that uses constant

space (without recursion or a stack).

o This technique modifies the tree temporarily to establish links between

nodes.

• Practice: Implement Morris traversal for binary trees.

• LeetCode: While there isn't a direct LeetCode problem for this, look for Morris
Traversal tutorials for practice.

6. Tree Isomorphism

• Concepts to Learn:

o Tree Isomorphism: Two trees are isomorphic if one can be transformed

into the other by swapping the left and right subtrees of any number of
nodes.

o You should learn how to check whether two trees are isomorphic.

• Practice: Implement a function to check if two binary trees are isomorphic.

• LeetCode: Is Subtree (Related)

7. Tree Pruning
 • Concepts to Learn:

o Pruning a Tree: Removing branches or leaves that do not contribute to

the desired structure or problem.

o For example, pruning a binary search tree to remove a node that doesn't
meet certain conditions.

• Practice: Implement pruning for binary trees or binary search trees.

• LeetCode: Binary Tree Pruning

8. Binary Tree to Linked List (Flattening a Tree)

• Concepts to Learn:

o Flattening a binary tree into a linked list (in-place) following pre-order

traversal.

o This is often used in problems where you need to convert tree structures
into linear forms.

• Practice: Implement flattening for a binary tree to a linked list.

• LeetCode: Flatten Binary Tree to Linked List

9. Kth Smallest/Largest Element in a Binary Search Tree (BST)

• Concepts to Learn:

o Find the kth smallest or largest element in a Binary Search Tree using in-
order traversal.

o Efficient approaches to solving this, like Morris Traversal or BST-specific

methods.

• Practice: Implement the algorithm to find the kth smallest or largest element in a
BST.

• LeetCode: Kth Smallest Element in a BST

• LeetCode: Kth Largest Element in a BST

10. Binary Search Tree – Successor and Predecessor

• Concepts to Learn:
 o Finding the in-order successor and predecessor of a node in a BST.

o This is important in operations like node deletion and tree traversal.

• Practice: Implement methods to find the successor and predecessor for a node
in a BST.

• LeetCode: Inorder Successor in BST

11. Splay Trees

• Concepts to Learn:

o Splay Tree: A self-adjusting binary search tree where recently accessed

elements are moved to the root using rotations.

o Focus on the rotations and splaying operations.

• Practice: Learn the theory behind Splay Trees and implement basic operations
like splaying and rotations.

• LeetCode: Although LeetCode doesn't have specific problems for Splay Trees,
look for theory-based problems.

12. B-Trees and B+ Trees

• Concepts to Learn:

o B-Trees: A self-balancing search tree that maintains sorted data and

allows searches, insertions, deletions in logarithmic time.

o B+ Trees: An extension of B-Trees, widely used in databases and file

systems.

• Practice: Study their properties, structure, and implement basic operations.

• LeetCode: No direct problems in LeetCode, but focus on theory and learn

applications in databases.

13. Hamming Distance in Trees

• Concepts to Learn:

o Calculate the Hamming Distance between two binary trees, which

counts how many corresponding nodes have different values.
 • Practice: Implement an algorithm to calculate the Hamming distance between
two trees.

• LeetCode: Leaf-Similar Trees

14. Heavy-Light Decomposition

• Concepts to Learn:

o Heavy-Light Decomposition: A technique used to decompose trees to

speed up query operations, used in advanced algorithms like LCA
queries and path queries.

o The technique is useful for solving certain graph/tree problems in

logarithmic time.

• Practice: Study the theory and try to implement heavy-light decomposition for
path queries.

15. Tree DP (Dynamic Programming on Trees)

• Concepts to Learn:

o Apply dynamic programming to trees. This typically involves solving

optimization problems where sub-problems are solved at each node of
the tree and results are passed upwards.

o Common problems: Maximum path sum, Diameter of tree, Longest path,

etc.

• Practice: Solve tree DP problems where you use dynamic programming to store
intermediate results at each node.

Final Thoughts:

By studying the topics listed above, you'll be well-prepared to tackle most tree-related
challenges, whether you're working with binary trees, BSTs, AVL trees, heaps, or
advanced trees like segment trees and tries.

Make sure to practice solving problems on LeetCode or HackerRank regularly to

reinforce your understanding of these concepts and improve your problem-solving
skills.

If you'd like me to help you dive deeper into any of these topics, feel free to ask!