Find Peak Element

Category

Binary Search

Checkbox

Difficulty

Medium

Index

Key Ideas

The key idea to solve the given problem in LeetCode-75 curated list is to use binary search to find the peak element in a given array.

Problem Number

162

Problem Summary

The "Find Peak Element" problem (Problem Number: 162) is a medium difficulty problem in the Binary Search category on LeetCode. The task is to find a peak element in an array, where a peak element is defined as an element that is greater than its neighbors. A key pitfall to watch out for is ensuring that the solution handles edge cases correctly, such as when the array is empty or when there are multiple peak elements.

Solution Summary

The best solution to solve the "Find Peak Element" problem is to use a modified binary search algorithm. By comparing the middle element with its adjacent elements, we can determine if the peak is on the left or right side. If the middle element is smaller than its right neighbor, the peak must be on the right side. If it's larger, the peak must be on the left side. We can then narrow down our search to the corresponding side and repeat the process until we find the peak. This algorithm has a time complexity of O(log n) since we divide the search space in half with each iteration.