Watering Plants Ii - Leetcode Solution

The Watering Plants II problem on LeetCode is a problem that involves finding the minimum number of trips required to water all the plants in a garden. The problem assumes that there are n plants in the garden, each with a distinct height.

The problem is framed in a way that the garden can be watered only via a watering can that has a capacity of k units of water. Also, the watering can is refilled after each trip. Each plant needs a different amount of water to be fully hydrated, and this amount is given in an array watering which determines the amount of water required per plant.

The solution to this problem can be broken down into three main steps:

1. Calculate the amount of water required to water all the plants

To get the total amount of water required to water all the plants, we sum up the values in the watering array. This sum will represent the minimum amount of water required to water all the plants.

2. Divide the total amount of water by the capacity of the watering can

Using integer division, we divide the total amount of water needed to water all the plants by the capacity of the watering can. This results in the minimum number of trips needed to water all the plants, given that the can is refilled after each trip.

3. Determine if any additional trips are needed based on the remaining water

If there is any remaining water after the minimum number of trips determined in step 2, we need to make additional trips to water all the plants. We can check if there is remaining water by calculating the modulus of the total amount of water and the capacity of the watering can. If the modulus is greater than zero, additional trips are needed.

The final solution to the Watering Plants II problem can be implemented using code as follows:

def watering_plants(watering: List[int], capacity: int) -> int:
    # calculate total water required
    total_water = sum(watering)
    # calculate minimum number of trips
    trips = total_water // capacity
    # check for remaining water
    remaining_water = total_water % capacity
    if remaining_water > 0:
        trips += 1
    return trips

This function takes in the watering array and the capacity of the watering can and returns the minimum number of trips required to water all the plants.

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