2436. Make Array Zero by Subtracting Equal Amounts

Easy
Array
Hash Table
Greedy
Sorting
Heap (Priority Queue)
Simulation

Description

You are given a non-negative integer array nums. In one operation, you must:

  • Choose a positive integer x such that x is less than or equal to the smallest non-zero element in nums.
  • Subtract x from every positive element in nums.

Return the minimum number of operations to make every element in nums equal to 0.

 

Example 1:

Input: nums = [1,5,0,3,5]
Output: 3
Explanation:
In the first operation, choose x = 1. Now, nums = [0,4,0,2,4].
In the second operation, choose x = 2. Now, nums = [0,2,0,0,2].
In the third operation, choose x = 2. Now, nums = [0,0,0,0,0].

Example 2:

Input: nums = [0]
Output: 0
Explanation: Each element in nums is already 0 so no operations are needed.

 

Constraints:

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

Hints

Hint 1
It is always best to set x as the smallest non-zero element in nums.
Hint 2
Elements with the same value will always take the same number of operations to become 0. Contrarily, elements with different values will always take a different number of operations to become 0.
Hint 3
The answer is the number of unique non-zero numbers in nums.

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