C Exercises: Find out the maximum difference between any two elements

Last update on March 18 2025 13:23:26 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

69. Maximum Difference with Order Condition

Write a program in C to find the maximum difference between any two elements such that the larger element appears after the smaller number.

Expected Output :
The given array is : 7 9 5 6 13 2
The elements which provide maximum difference is: 5, 13
The Maximum difference between two elements in the array is: 8

The task is to write a C program that finds the maximum difference between any two elements in an array, where the larger element appears after the smaller element. The program should iterate through the array to determine the pair of elements that provides this maximum difference and then display the pair along with the maximum difference.

Visual Presentation:

Sample Solution:

C Code:

#include <stdio.h>

// Function to find the maximum difference between two elements in the array
int maxDifference(int arr1[], int n) {
int i;
int min_element = arr1[0];  // Initialize the minimum element as the first element of the array
int diff = arr1[1] - arr1[0];  // Initialize the difference as the difference between the second and first element

for (i = 1; i < n; i++) {
        // Check if the difference between the current element and the minimum element is greater than the current difference
if (arr1[i] - min_element > diff) {
diff = arr1[i] - min_element;  // Update the difference
printf("The elements which provide maximum difference is: %d, %d\n", min_element, arr1[i]);
        }

        // Update the minimum element if the current element is smaller than the current minimum element
if (arr1[i] < min_element)
            min_element = arr1[i];
    }
return diff;  // Return the maximum difference
}

int main() {
int arr1[] =  { 7, 9, 5, 6, 13, 2 };
int n = sizeof(arr1) / sizeof(arr1[0]);
int i;  

    // Printing the original array
printf("The given array is :  ");
for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {
printf("%d  ", arr1[i]);
    } 
printf("\n");

    // Finding and printing the maximum difference between two elements in the array
printf("The Maximum difference between two elements in the array is: %d", maxDifference(arr1, n));
getchar();  // To keep the output screen open
return 0;
}

Output:

The given array is :  7  9  5  6  13  2  
The elements which provide maximum difference is: 5,   13
The Maximum difference between two elements in the array is:  8 

Flowchart:/p>

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a C program to find the maximum difference between two elements such that the larger comes after the smaller using a single pass.
• Write a C program to compute the maximum difference and then display the pair responsible for that difference.
• Write a C program to determine the maximum difference using dynamic programming for large arrays.
• Write a C program to find the maximum difference with order condition recursively.

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