Exercise 1033Logic, sets and proofs › Proof techniques › InductionL1Added 3 Nov 2026
Full binary tree node count
#induction#binary tree#structural
Statement
Prove by structural induction: a full binary tree with internal nodes has leaves.
Hint
Base case: single node. Inductive step: a tree is a root with two subtrees.
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Solution
Structural induction. Base case: a single-node tree has internal nodes and leaf. . ✓
Inductive step. Suppose the tree has root with left subtree and right subtree . Let be internal node counts and leaf counts. By induction, , . Total internal nodes: (including root). Total leaves: .
Conclusion. A full binary tree with internal nodes has leaves.