🔍 Find Minimum and Maximum in an Array – Python

Hi All,

Today I solved a basic and important problem: Finding the minimum and maximum elements in an array.

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📌 Problem Statement

Given an array arr[], find the minimum and maximum elements.

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🔍 Examples

Example 1:

arr = [1, 4, 3, 5, 8, 6]

Output:

[1, 8]

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Example 2:

arr = [12, 3, 15, 7, 9]

Output:

[3, 15]

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💡 Approach

🔹 Method 1: Linear Traversal (Optimal)

• Initialize:
  • min_val = first element
  • max_val = first element
• Traverse the array:
  • Update min_val if smaller element found
  • Update max_val if larger element found

👉 Only one loop → efficient solution

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💻 Python Code

def find_min_max(arr):
    min_val = arr[0]
    max_val = arr[0]

    for num in arr:
        if num < min_val:
            min_val = num
        if num > max_val:
            max_val = num

    return [min_val, max_val]

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🔍 Dry Run

For:

arr = [12, 3, 15, 7, 9]

Steps:

• Start → min = 12, max = 12
• Compare 3 → min = 3
• Compare 15 → max = 15
• Remaining elements → no change

Final Output:

[3, 15]

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🖥️ Sample Output

Input: [1, 4, 3, 5, 8, 6]
Output: [1, 8]

Input: [12, 3, 15, 7, 9]
Output: [3, 15]

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🧠 Alternative Method

🔹 Using built-in functions

def find_min_max(arr):
    return [min(arr), max(arr)]

👉 Simple and quick, but less control

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⚡ Complexity Analysis

• Time Complexity: O(n) ✅
• Space Complexity: O(1) ✅

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✅ Conclusion

This problem helped me understand:

• Traversing arrays efficiently
• Comparing elements
• Writing optimized solutions

🚀 This is a fundamental problem in Data Structures!

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