Question

In Mathematics, what does the 3Sum problem involve?

a) Finding the sum of the first three integers in an array.
b) Returning all triplets that sum to zero from an array.
c) Calculating the sum of three consecutive numbers.
d) Sorting an array in non-decreasing order.

Answer 1

The 3Sum problem in Mathematics involves returning all triplets from an array that sum to zero.

Step-by-step explanation:

The 3Sum problem in Mathematics involves returning all triplets from an array that sum to zero. This problem is commonly used in algorithmic interviews and requires finding three numbers in the array whose sum is zero.

For example, if we have an array [−1, 0, 1, 2, −1, −4], the triplets that sum to zero are [−1, 0, 1] and [−1, −1, 2].

It is important to make these distinctions in order to understand the specific problem being asked and to apply the correct mathematical techniques and algorithms to solve it.