Question

On a positive integer, you can perform any one of the following 3 steps. 1.) Subtract 1 from it. ( n = n - 1 ) , 2.) If its divisible by 2, divide by 2. ( if n % 2 == 0 , then n = n / 2 ) , 3.) If its divisible by 3, divide by 3. ( if n % 3 == 0 , then n = n / 3 ). Now the question is, given a positive integer n, find the minimum number of steps that takes n to 1

Answer 1

import java.util.Scanner;

public class MinStep{

public static void main( String args[] ){

Scanner sc= new Scanner(System.in);

int counter = 0;

System.out.println("Enter a positive integer:");

int num=sc.nextInt();

while(num!=1){

if( num % 3==0){

num/=3;

counter++;

}

else if(num % 2==0){

num/=2;

counter++;

}

else{

num = num - 1;

counter++;

}

}

System.out.println("The minimum number of steps it took= " + counter);

sc.close();

}

}

This is the program for your question in the java programming language.

Hope it helps.