Greedy on binary tree
Last updated: December 21, 2025
Quick Overview
Given a binary tree, implement a greedy algorithm to find the maximum sum of values from the root to any leaf node. You should traverse the tree and at each node, choose the path that leads to the maximum sum. The input will be the root of the binary tree, and the output should be the maximum sum as an integer.
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December 21, 202549
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Given a binary tree, implement a greedy algorithm to find the maximum sum of values from the root to any leaf node. You should traverse the tree and at each node, choose the path that leads to the maximum sum. The input will be the root of the binary tree, and the output should be the maximum sum as an integer.
TikTok uses this problem in the Phone Screen to evaluate your algorithmic thinking. They expect you to discuss multiple approaches, analyze trade-offs between them, and implement the optimal solution with clean, readable code.
What the Interviewer Expects
- Identify the correct data structure and algorithm for the problem
- Write clean, bug-free code with proper variable naming
- Analyze time and space complexity correctly
- Handle basic edge cases (empty input, single element)
- Communicate your thought process while coding
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
- How would you test this solution thoroughly?
- What if the input doesn't fit in memory?
- How would your solution change if the input was sorted?
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Practice DSA ProblemsSample Answer
Problem Analysis
This problem is best approached using a depth-first search (DFS) strategy. The reason for choosing DFS is that we need to explore all paths from the root to the leaf nodes, calculating the sum of ...
Approach
The algorithm can be broken down into the following steps:
- Define a recursive function that takes a node as input and returns the maximum sum from that node to any leaf.
- If the current node is `...
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