LeetCode 1962: Remove Stones to Minimize the Total Solution

Master LeetCode problem 1962 (Remove Stones to Minimize the Total), a medium challenge, with our optimized solutions in Java, C++, and Python. Explore detailed explanations, test your code in our interactive editor, and prepare for coding interviews.

1962. Remove Stones to Minimize the Total

Medium

Array Greedy Heap (Priority Queue)

Problem Explanation

Explanation:

To minimize the total number of stones remaining after applying the k operations, we need to distribute the removal operations optimally. We can achieve this by always selecting the pile with the maximum number of stones to remove from.

Algorithm:

Iterate k times:
- Select the pile with the maximum number of stones.
- Remove half of the stones from the selected pile.
Return the sum of remaining stones.

Time Complexity: O(k * n) where n is the number of piles. Space Complexity: O(1)

Solution Code

class Solution {
    public int minStoneSum(int[] piles, int k) {
        PriorityQueue<Integer> pq = new PriorityQueue<>(Collections.reverseOrder());
        for (int pile : piles) {
            pq.offer(pile);
        }

        for (int i = 0; i < k; i++) {
            int maxPile = pq.poll();
            int newPile = maxPile - (maxPile / 2);
            pq.offer(newPile);
        }

        int totalStones = 0;
        for (int pile : pq) {
            totalStones += pile;
        }

        return totalStones;
    }
}

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