Binary Search Tree vs Ordered List

The most effective algorithm to find any element in either case is the same: binary search. It has average complexity O (log n).

The problem is that in unbalanced binary trees, the worst-case scenario is O (n). For example, suppose I'm looking for 5 in the tree below:

1
 \
  2
   \
    3
     \
      4
       \
        5

The algorithm will go through all the elements of the tree to find the 5. Already with ordered lists, the worst case remains O (log n). Having the same items as an example:

[1,2,3,4,5]

The algorithm will scroll through only 3, 4, and 5 until you find the result. This way it is preferable to use an ordered list.

ABB Tree.         The complexity of the tree is O (log n) and the complexity of the ordered list is O (n), so the search in an ABB tree is more efficient than the search in the list.