Is Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements III easy or hard?

Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements III is considered an Easy problem. The challenge is recognizing that the optimal target value must be the maximum element, which simplifies the solution to a simple arithmetic formula.

Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements III Python/Java solution

In Python, Java, C++, or Go, the implementation is identical in logic: iterate once to compute the sum and maximum value, then return maxValue * n - sum. The algorithm uses constant extra space and works efficiently for large arrays.

How to solve Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements III in O(n)?

Iterate through the array once to compute the maximum element and the sum of all elements. The target value is the maximum because increments cannot reduce larger numbers. The minimum moves are calculated using the formula maxValue * n - totalSum.

What is the best approach for Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements III?

The optimal solution computes the maximum element and the total sum of the array in one pass. Since elements can only be incremented, the final equal value must be the maximum value. The total moves are calculated using maxValue * n - sum(nums). This runs in O(n) time and O(1) space.

Is Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements III asked at Google/Amazon/Meta?

Array and math optimization problems like this frequently appear in coding interviews at companies such as Amazon, Google, and Meta. The question tests whether you can derive a mathematical shortcut instead of simulating operations.

What data structure is used in Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements III?

The problem only requires basic array traversal. No advanced data structures are needed. The solution tracks two values while iterating: the running sum and the current maximum.

What is the time complexity of Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements III?

The optimal algorithm runs in O(n) time because it scans the array once to compute the sum and maximum value. Space complexity is O(1) since only a few variables are used regardless of input size.

Description Hints 1 Solution Video 1:58

3736. Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements III

Easy81.0% acceptance1 company

You are given an integer array nums.

In one move, you may increase the value of any single element nums[i] by 1.

Return the minimum total number of moves required so that all elements in nums become equal.

Example 1:

Input: nums = [2,1,3]

Output: 3

Explanation:

To make all elements equal:

Increase nums[0] = 2 by 1 to make it 3.
Increase nums[1] = 1 by 1 to make it 2.
Increase nums[1] = 2 by 1 to make it 3.

Now, all elements of nums are equal to 3. The minimum total moves is 3.

Example 2:

Input: nums = [4,4,5]

Output: 2

Explanation:

To make all elements equal:

Increase nums[0] = 4 by 1 to make it 5.
Increase nums[1] = 4 by 1 to make it 5.

Now, all elements of nums are equal to 5. The minimum total moves is 2.

Constraints:

1 <= nums.length <= 100
1 <= nums[i] <= 100

Asked at 1 company

Adobe

Topics

Array Math

Hints open one at a time

Hint 1

To make all numbers equal, they must all reach at least the maximum value in the array.

1:58

Still stuck?Read the written solution, or watch a walkthrough.

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1class Solution:
2    def minMoves(self, nums: List[int]) -> int:
3        

Starter codePython 3Spaces: 4

Examples

Case 1Case 2

Input

[2,1,3]

Input

[4,4,5]

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