Problem link : contestpractice
Difficulty : CakeWalk
Pre-requisites : Sorting
Problem : Given a sequence a1, a2, ..., aN. Find the smallest possible value of ai + aj, where 1 ≤ i< j≤ N
Explanation
This problem was the easiest one in the set and it was intended to enable everybody to get some points.
How to get 13 points
Here you have only two integers a1 and a2, so the only possible sum will be a1+a2.
How to get 60 points
The constraints were designed in such a way that you can iterate through all the possible pairs (i, j), where 1 ≤ i< j≤ N and check for every obtained sum, whether it's the minimal one.
How to get 100 points
The answer is basically the sum of the minimal and the second-minimal element in the array. So you can simply iterate through all the numbers, keeping track of the minimal and the second-minimal number. Or if your programming language has built-in sorting, you can act even simpler, because after the sorting of the array in increasing order, the required minimal and the second-minimal will be the first and the second elements of the sorted array.
Related links
- Reference in the built-in sorting for C++ users