Day 45: Graph Traversal - Breadth-First Search

After reading this chapter and engaging in the embedded activities and reflections, you should be able to:

• Explain the graph traversal problem and why it differs from tree traversal
• Describe the breadth-first search strategy and its level-by-level exploration pattern
• Implement BFS using a queue and visited set to handle cycles
• Trace BFS execution on sample graphs showing queue and visited set states
• Recognize the connection between BFS and level-order tree traversal
• Analyze the time complexity O(V + E) and space complexity O(V) of BFS
• Identify applications of BFS including shortest paths and connected components
• Explain why BFS finds shortest paths in unweighted graphs