Minimum elements to add to form a given sum

Array Greedy

45.0% acceptance

Feb 25, 2026

284

196

You are given an integer array nums and two integers limit and goal. The array nums has property abs(nums[i]) <= limit. Return the minimum number of elements you need to add to make the sum equal to goal. Each added element must also satisfy abs(x) <= limit.

Solution

Rust

Time O(n)

Space O(1)

LeetCode

solution.rs

impl Solution {
  pub fn min_elements(nums: Vec<i32>, limit: i32, goal: i32) -> i32 {
    let sum: i64 = nums.iter().map(|&x| x as i64).sum();
    let diff = (goal as i64 - sum).abs();
    let limit = limit as i64;
    ((diff + limit - 1) / limit) as i32
  }
}