Instruction
Great! The last type of programming problem we want to introduce is finding common elements in two sorted lists. Suppose we have the following sorted lists:
mark_sleep_durations = [268, 290, 323, 326, 345, 394, 434, 506, 590, 590] kate_sleep_durations = [268, 299, 323, 440, 474, 546, 562, 590]
Do Mark and Kate share any identical sleep duration values?
This problem is actually quite similar to the one you just solved, merging two sorted lists. That's why we'll leave it for you to figure out in the exercise.
Exercise
Create a new sorted list named common_sleep_durations containing elements common to both lists from the template code. Use two temporary variables, i and j. Try to find a solution similar to the one used for merging two sorted lists. At the end of your code, print the common_sleep_durations list.
Stuck? Here's a hint!
Use the same while loop as in the previous exercise:
while i < len(mark_sleep_durations) and j < len(kate_sleep_durations):
Inside, apply the following rules:
- If
mark_sleep_durations[i]is less thankate_sleep_durations[j], incrementi. - If
mark_sleep_durations[i]is greater thankate_sleep_durations[j], incrementj. - If they are equal, add either element to
common_sleep_durations.
