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3171. Minimum Equal Sum of Two Arrays After Replacing Zeros

My accepted Python solution to LeetCode problem 3171, Minimum Equal Sum of Two Arrays After Replacing Zeros, running in 893ms.

  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Python
  • Runtime 893ms
  • Memory 33.9MB

Read the problem on LeetCode View on GitHub

The problem statement is LeetCode’s and stays on their site. What follows is my accepted solution.

Python

Accepted on LeetCode — runtime 893ms, memory 33.9MB, accepted 2026-01-01.

python
class Solution:
    def minSum(self, nums1: List[int], nums2: List[int]) -> int:
        sum1 = sum(nums1)
        sum2 = sum(nums2)
        zeros1 = nums1.count(0)
        zeros2 = nums2.count(0)
        
        # Minimum possible sums (replace each 0 with 1)
        min_sum1 = sum1 + zeros1
        min_sum2 = sum2 + zeros2
        
        # If one array has no zeros, it can't be increased
        if zeros1 == 0 and min_sum1 < min_sum2:
            return -1
        if zeros2 == 0 and min_sum2 < min_sum1:
            return -1
        
        return max(min_sum1, min_sum2)

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