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3328. Apply Operations to Make Sum of Array Greater Than or Equal to k

My accepted Python solution to LeetCode problem 3328, Apply Operations to Make Sum of Array Greater Than or Equal to k, running in 3ms.

  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Python
  • Runtime 3ms
  • Memory 17.2MB

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 3ms, memory 17.2MB, accepted 2026-01-02.

python
class Solution:
    def minOperations(self, k: int) -> int:
        if k <= 1:
            return 0
        
        # We start with [1], can increment or duplicate
        # If we increment to v, then duplicate d times: sum = (d+1)*v
        # Operations = (v-1) + d
        # Want min (v-1) + d such that (d+1)*v >= k
        
        result = float('inf')
        
        # Try each possible final value v
        for v in range(1, k + 1):
            # Need (d+1) * v >= k, so d >= ceil(k/v) - 1
            d = (k + v - 1) // v - 1  # This is ceil(k/v) - 1
            d = max(0, d)
            ops = (v - 1) + d
            result = min(result, ops)
            
            # Optimization: once ops starts increasing, we can stop
            if v - 1 > result:
                break
        
        return result

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