Problem 470. Scoring for oriented dominoes

Created by Doug Hull

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Given a list of ordered pairs, and the order they should be placed in a line, find the sum of the absolute values of the differences.

list = [1 2
        5 3
        2 4

order = [1 3 2]

yields: [1 2][2 4][5 3]
    or: abs(2-2) + abs(4-5)
    or:        0 + 1
    or: 1

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Last Solution submitted on Dec 15, 2025

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CAM on 7 Feb 2014

Is Test #3 correct? When I solve it with pencil and paper, I get 15 instead of 14.
[5 4][1 2][2 4][7 5][4 8][4 5][1 6]
= -3 + 0 + 3 + -1 + -4 + -4
= 3+0+3+1+4+4
=15
Have I missed something?

Raymond Phan on 26 Jul 2014

No it's 14. With the ordering, you should get:
[5 4][1 2][2 4][4 8][1 6][4 5][7 5], and the sum is abs(4-1) + abs(2-2) + abs(4-4) + abs(8-1) + abs(6-4) + abs(5-7) = 3 + 0 + 0 + 7 + 2 + 2 = 14

Zhiyuan Lang on 3 May 2022

good

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Problem 470. Scoring for oriented dominoes

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Problem 470. Scoring for oriented dominoes

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