What's a Spanning Tree?

What's a Spanning Tree?

In the mathematical field of graph theory, a spanning tree T of an undirected graph G is a subgraph that is a tree which includes all of the vertices of G. In general, a graph may have several spanning trees, but a graph that is not connected will not contain a spanning tree.

What is spanning tree with example?

A minimum spanning tree is a special kind of tree that minimizes the lengths (or “weights”) of the edges of the tree. An example is a cable company wanting to lay line to multiple neighborhoods; by minimizing the amount of cable laid, the cable company will save money. A tree has one path joins any two vertices.

What is a spanning tree?

A spanning tree is a tree that connects all the vertices of a graph with the minimum possible number of edges. Thus, a spanning tree is always connected. Also, a spanning tree never contains a cycle. A spanning tree is always defined for a graph and it is always a subset of that graph.

James H. Sterling
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James H. Sterling

James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.