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Priority Queue Sum Top K

Published at25 Jul 2026
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Priority Queue Easy 0 views
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Given an array and k, return the sum of the top k largest elements. Sort descending, take the first k, and sum them. Return -1 if k exceeds array length.

Example Input & Output

Example 1
Input
[5],1
Output
5
Explanation

Single

Example 2
Input
[1,2],5
Output
-1
Explanation

k > n

Example 3
Input
[1,2,3,4,5],3
Output
12
Explanation

Top 3 sum = 5+4+3=12

Example 4
Input
[10,5,7,2],2
Output
17
Explanation

Top 2 sum = 10+7=17

Example 5
Input
[],3
Output
-1
Explanation

Empty

Algorithm Flow

Recommendation Algorithm Flow for Priority Queue Sum Top K
Recommendation Algorithm Flow for Priority Queue Sum Top K

Solution Approach

function solution(arr, k) {
  if (k > arr.length) return -1;
  var sorted = arr.slice().sort(function(a,b){return b-a;});
  var sum = 0;
  for (var i = 0; i < k; i++) sum += sorted[i];
  return sum;
}

Best Answers

java
import java.util.*;
class Solution {
    public int solution(int[] nums, int k) {
        if(k>nums.length)return -1;int[] s=nums.clone();Arrays.sort(s);int sum=0;
        for(int i=0;i<k;i++)sum+=s[nums.length-1-i];
        return sum;
    }
}