LeetCode 3689: Maximum Total Subarray Value I

Meta Data

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Difficulty: medium First Attempt: 2025-09-21

• Submissions: Accepted (first try)

Approach

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A subarray’s value is its max minus its min. Any subarray’s max is <= the array’s max and its min >= the array’s min, so the whole array has the largest value. The same subarray may be chosen repeatedly, so choose it k times.

My Solution

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class Solution:
    def maxTotalValue(self, nums: List[int], k: int) -> int:
        return (max(nums) - min(nums)) * k

Complexity

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Time O(n), space O(1).

Mistakes to Avoid

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• Notice the “same subarray can repeat” condition; if each subarray could be chosen only once, this shortcut fails and you would need the k largest values.

Interview Explanation

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No subarray’s max minus min exceeds the whole array’s, and repeats are allowed, so the answer is the whole array’s value times k. Time O(n).