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3621. Minimum Operations to Make Array Values Equal to K

My accepted Python solution to LeetCode problem 3621, Minimum Operations to Make Array Values Equal to K, running in 67ms.

  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Python
  • Runtime 67ms
  • 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 67ms, memory 17.2MB, accepted 2025-12-31.

python
class Solution:
    def minOperations(self, nums: List[int], k: int) -> int:
        # If any element is less than k, it's impossible
        if min(nums) < k:
            return -1
        
        # Count distinct values greater than k
        distinct_values = set()
        for num in nums:
            if num > k:
                distinct_values.add(num)
        
        # We need one operation per distinct value > k
        return len(distinct_values)

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