Find connected components in binary tree
Last updated: April 6, 2026
Quick Overview
Given a binary tree, write a function to identify and return all connected components within the tree. A connected component is defined as a subset of nodes such that there exists a path between any two nodes in the subset. The output should be a list of lists, where each inner list contains the nodes of a connected component.
Anthropic
April 6, 202610
9
712 solved
Given a binary tree, write a function to identify and return all connected components within the tree. A connected component is defined as a subset of nodes such that there exists a path between any two nodes in the subset. The output should be a list of lists, where each inner list contains the nodes of a connected component.
This coding problem is frequently asked during Onsite at Anthropic. The interviewer is testing your ability to translate a problem into clean, working code while discussing time and space complexity. Anthropic expects candidates to write production-quality code, not just solve the puzzle.
What the Interviewer Expects
- Recognize the underlying problem pattern (sliding window, two pointers, BFS/DFS, etc.)
- Discuss multiple approaches and trade-offs before coding
- Implement an optimal solution with clean, production-quality code
- Handle all edge cases including boundary conditions and invalid input
- Optimize both time and space complexity with clear justification
- Test your solution systematically with well-chosen examples
Key Topics to Cover
How to Approach This
- Clarify input constraints and edge cases before writing code.
- Walk through your approach verbally and confirm with the interviewer before coding.
- Start with a brute force solution, then optimize. Mention time and space complexity.
- Test your solution with examples, including edge cases like empty input or duplicates.
- Consider common patterns: sliding window, two pointers, hash map, BFS/DFS, dynamic programming.
Possible Follow-up Questions
- What is the worst-case input for your solution?
- Can you solve this iteratively instead of recursively (or vice versa)?
- What if the input doesn't fit in memory?
- Can you solve this in a single pass?
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Practice DSA ProblemsSample Answer
Problem Analysis
To solve the problem of finding connected components in a binary tree, we can recognize that the tree structure naturally forms connected components, as each node is linked to its children. Since bina...
Approach
The approach involves a depth-first search (DFS) or breadth-first search (BFS) to traverse the entire binary tree and collect nodes into a list. Here’s a step-by-step algorithm using DFS:
- Define a ...
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