Problem: Find K Pairs with Smallest Sums

med

30 min

Explore how to efficiently find the k pairs with the smallest sums by combining two sorted lists using k-way merge techniques. Understand the problem constraints and develop a solution approach that can handle multiple pairs and optimize performance. This lesson helps you apply these skills to coding interview scenarios requiring efficient data merging and pair selection.

Statement

You are given two integer arrays, list1 and list2, sorted in non-decreasing order, and an integer, k.

A pair $(u, \space v)$ is defined as one element $u$ chosen from list1 and one element $v$ chosen from list2.

Your task is to return the k pairs $(u1, \space v1), (u2, \space v2), ..., (uk, \space vk)$ whose sums $u1 + v1, u2 + v2, ..., uk + vk$ are the smallest among all possible such pairs.

Note: If multiple pairs have the same sum, any order among them is acceptable.

Problem: Find K Pairs with Smallest Sums

med

30 min

Statement

You are given two integer arrays, list1 and list2, sorted in non-decreasing order, and an integer, k.

A pair $(u, \space v)$ is defined as one element $u$ chosen from list1 and one element $v$ chosen from list2.

Your task is to return the k pairs $(u1, \space v1), (u2, \space v2), ..., (uk, \space vk)$ whose sums $u1 + v1, u2 + v2, ..., uk + vk$ are the smallest among all possible such pairs.

Note: If multiple pairs have the same sum, any order among them is acceptable.

Problem: Find K Pairs with Smallest Sums

Statement

Examples

Understand the problem

Figure it out!

Try it yourself

Problem: Find K Pairs with Smallest Sums

Statement

Examples

Understand the problem

Figure it out!

Try it yourself