Practice Arena

Python Coding Challenges

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875 challenges 536 easy 303 medium 36 hard
Python Basics medium

Fibonacci(n)

Return the nth Fibonacci number efficiently.

recursion dp memoization
+15 pts 15m
Strings & Text medium

Additive number sequence

Check whether a given digit string can be partitioned into a valid additive sequence where each term is the sum of the previous two.

strings parsing fibonacci
+30 pts 25m
Lists & Arrays medium

Find Duplicate Number

Given a list of n+1 integers in the range 1..n, find the one integer that appears more than once.

arrays hash-set duplicates
+20 pts 25m
Lists & Arrays medium

Two Missing Numbers

Given a list of n-2 unique integers from 1 to n, find the two missing numbers efficiently.

missing-numbers arrays math
+25 pts 25m
Lists & Arrays medium

Three Missing Numbers

Find the three missing numbers from a shuffled list containing all but three integers from 1 to n.

arrays sets missing
+15 pts 15m
Lists & Arrays medium

Count Smaller Numbers

Given an integer list, return for each position how many later elements are smaller than it.

arrays counting merge-sort
+20 pts 20m
Dicts & Sets medium

Subarray sum equals K

Count the number of contiguous subarrays whose sum equals k.

prefix-sum dict arrays
+28 pts 25m
OOP & Classes medium

Complex Number Class

Implement a Complex class supporting addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, equality, and string formatting.

classes magic-methods arithmetic
+20 pts 25m
Data Structures & Algorithms medium

Coin change (DP)

Find the minimum number of coins to make exactly the target amount.

dp greedy
+30 pts 28m
Data Structures & Algorithms medium

Count inversions lite

Implement a function that counts inversions in a list of numbers efficiently.

inversions sorting merge sort
+25 pts 25m
Data Structures & Algorithms medium

Merge Sort

Implement merge_sort(numbers) that returns a sorted copy of the input list using the merge sort algorithm.

sorting recursion divide-and-conquer
+30 pts 30m
Data Structures & Algorithms medium

Bucket Sort

Implement bucket sort to sort a list of floating-point numbers in the range [0,1).

sorting bucket-sort insertion-sort
+25 pts 30m
Data Structures & Algorithms medium

Decode Ways

Count the number of ways to decode a numeric string into letters using the mapping A=1 to Z=26.

dynamic programming strings counting
+20 pts 25m
Data Structures & Algorithms medium

Online Stock Span

Implement StockSpanner.next(price) that returns the maximum number of consecutive days (including today) with price <= current price.

stack monotonic-stack stock-span
+20 pts 25m
Data Structures & Algorithms medium

Eulerian Path Check

Given the number of vertices and an edge list of an undirected graph, decide if it has an Eulerian path.

graph eulerian degree
+25 pts 25m
Data Structures & Algorithms medium

Strobogrammatic number II

Given a positive integer n, return all strobogrammatic numbers of length n in ascending order.

strings recursion number
+25 pts 20m
Advanced Python medium

Multiprocessing Queue

Implement a function that uses a multiprocessing queue to compute factorials of a list of numbers in parallel.

multiprocessing queue parallel
+25 pts 25m
Iterators & Generators medium

Prime Sieve Generator

Implement a generator function that yields prime numbers from 2 up to a specified limit, using an efficient sieve approach.

generators prime sieve
+20 pts 20m
Decorators & Context Managers medium

LRU Memoize

Implement an LRU memoization decorator that caches results for a fixed number of arguments.

decorators caching lru
+30 pts 25m
Decorators & Context Managers medium

Rate Limit Decorator

Implement a decorator that enforces a maximum number of calls per second for any function.

decorator time rate-limiting
+20 pts 20m
Regular Expressions medium

Match Credit Card Pattern

Write a function that validates a credit card number string against a set of formatting rules.

regex validation credit-card
+25 pts 25m
Math & Number Theory medium

Smith Number Check

Write a function to check if a number is a Smith number by comparing digit sums of the number and its prime factorization.

prime factors digit sum number theory
+20 pts 25m
Math & Number Theory medium

Extended Euclidean Algorithm

Implement the extended Euclidean algorithm to return (gcd, x, y) such that ax + by = gcd(a, b).

gcd extended-euclidean number-theory
+30 pts 25m
Math & Number Theory medium

Correlation Coefficient

Write a pure-Python function that computes the Pearson correlation coefficient between two lists of numbers.

statistics math arrays
+15 pts 15m
Bit Manipulation medium

Bitwise AND of a Range

Given a range [a, b], return the bitwise AND of all integers in that inclusive range without iterating over all numbers.

bitwise range optimization
+20 pts 15m
Bit Manipulation medium

Maximum XOR Pair

Implement max_xor_pair(nums) that returns the maximum XOR value obtainable by pairing any two numbers in the given list.

bit-manipulation xor array
+25 pts 30m
Dynamic Programming medium

Bell number

Implement a function to compute the Bell number B(n) using dynamic programming.

dp combinatorics math
+25 pts 25m
Dynamic Programming medium

Edit Distance (Levenshtein Distance)

Implement the classic edit distance algorithm to find the minimum number of single-character edits required to transform one string into another.

dynamic-programming strings levenshtein-distance
+25 pts 30m
Dynamic Programming medium

Target Sum Subsets

Write a function that counts the number of subsets of a list of positive integers that sum exactly to a target.

subset-sum dp counting
+25 pts 30m
Dynamic Programming medium

Coin Change Minimum

Given coin denominations and a target amount, compute the minimum number of coins needed or -1 if impossible.

dynamic-programming coins minimum
+30 pts 25m
Dynamic Programming medium

Coin Change Ways

Count the number of distinct combinations of coins that sum to a target amount.

dynamic programming coins counting
+30 pts 25m
Dynamic Programming medium

Perfect Squares Sum

Given a positive integer n, return the least number of perfect squares (e.g., 1, 4, 9, 16, ...) that sum to n.

dynamic-programming math optimization
+25 pts 25m
Dynamic Programming medium

Ugly Number II

Given an integer n, return the nth ugly number using an efficient dynamic programming approach.

dynamic programming math pointers
+25 pts 25m
Dynamic Programming medium

Target sum assignments

Given a list of integers and a target, count how many ways to assign + or - to each number so the total equals the target.

dynamic programming combinatorics arrays
+30 pts 25m
Dynamic Programming medium

Delete and Earn

Given an array of integers, find the maximum points you can earn by repeatedly deleting a number and all its adjacent values.

dynamic-programming array hash-map
+30 pts 25m
Trees & Binary Trees medium

Sum Root to Leaf Numbers

Given the root of a binary tree, compute the total sum of all root-to-leaf numbers.

binary-tree dfs recursion
+25 pts 25m
Trees & Binary Trees medium

Maximum Width of a Binary Tree

Given the root of a binary tree, compute its maximum width (the maximum number of nodes in any level, counting null positions).

binary-tree breadth-first-search queue
+25 pts 25m
Graphs & Graph Algorithms medium

Open the Lock BFS

Implement a BFS solution to find the minimum number of turns needed to open a 4-wheel lock, avoiding a set of deadends.

bfs strings graph
+25 pts 30m
Graphs & Graph Algorithms medium

Minimum Genetic Mutation

Implement a function to compute the minimum number of single-character mutations needed to transform one gene string into another, using a given bank of valid mutations.

bfs graph string
+30 pts 30m
Graphs & Graph Algorithms medium

Graph Coloring Backtrack

Given an adjacency list and a number of colors, decide if the graph can be colored so no adjacent vertices share a color.

backtracking graphs coloring
+30 pts 30m
Graphs & Graph Algorithms medium

Android unlock patterns

Count the number of valid Android unlock patterns of a given length using a 3x3 grid with adjacency constraints.

graphs dfs backtracking
+25 pts 30m
Graphs & Graph Algorithms medium

Most stones removed

Given stone coordinates on a grid, find the maximum number of stones that can be removed while every stone shares a row or column with another remaining stone.

graphs dfs union-find
+30 pts 30m
Recursion & Backtracking medium

Letter Combinations of a Phone Number

Given a string of digits, return all possible letter combinations that the number could represent on a phone keypad.

recursion backtracking string
+25 pts 25m
Recursion & Backtracking medium

N-Queens Count

Count the number of distinct valid placements of n non-attacking queens on an n×n chessboard.

backtracking recursion n-queens
+25 pts 30m
Recursion & Backtracking medium

Letter Tile Possibilities

Given a string of letter tiles, count the number of distinct non-empty sequences that can be formed using any non-empty subset in any order.

backtracking counting strings
+25 pts 25m
Recursion & Backtracking medium

Beautiful Arrangement Count

Count the number of permutations of 1..n such that for every index i, either i is divisible by the number at that position or the number is divisible by i.

recursion backtracking permutations
+30 pts 30m
Recursion & Backtracking medium

Rat in a Maze

Count the number of distinct paths a rat can take from top-left to bottom-right in a binary grid, moving down or right and avoiding walls.

backtracking recursion maze
+25 pts 30m
Greedy Algorithms medium

Meeting Rooms Minimum

Given a list of meeting time intervals, compute the minimum number of conference rooms required.

greedy intervals sorting
+30 pts 25m
Greedy Algorithms medium

Boats to Save People

Given a list of people weights and a boat's weight limit, return the minimum number of boats required.

greedy two-pointers sorting
+25 pts 25m
Greedy Algorithms medium

Minimum Number of Arrows to Burst Balloons

Given balloon intervals, find the minimum number of arrows to burst all balloons by merging overlaps.

greedy sorting intervals
+25 pts 25m
Greedy Algorithms medium

Queue Reconstruction by Height

Given shuffled pairs of (height, number_of_taller_people_in_front), reconstruct the original queue order.

greedy sorting insertion
+25 pts 25m
Greedy Algorithms medium

Non-overlapping Intervals

Given a list of intervals, return the minimum number of intervals to remove to make the rest non-overlapping.

greedy intervals sorting
+20 pts 20m
Greedy Algorithms medium

Max events attended

Given a list of events with start and end times, find the maximum number of non-overlapping events you can attend.

greedy interval-scheduling sorting
+20 pts 20m
Binary Search medium

Nth Magical Number

Given three integers n, a, b, return the nth positive integer that is divisible by either a or b.

binary-search math counting
+25 pts 25m
Binary Search medium

Minimum Limit of Balls in a Bag

Given an array of bag sizes and a number of allowed splits, find the minimum possible maximum bag size.

binary-search arrays optimization
+25 pts 25m
Two Pointers & Sliding Window medium

Character Replacement Window

Given a string and a number k, find the length of the longest substring that can be made uniform by replacing at most k characters.

sliding-window two-pointers strings
+30 pts 25m
Two Pointers & Sliding Window medium

Count Nice Subarrays

Given an array of integers, count the number of contiguous subarrays that contain exactly k odd numbers.

sliding-window two-pointers subarray
+25 pts 25m
Two Pointers & Sliding Window medium

Closest Three Sum

Given an array of integers and a target, return the sum of three numbers that is closest to the target.

sorting two-pointers array
+20 pts 20m
Two Pointers & Sliding Window medium

Fruit into Baskets

Given an array of integers representing fruit types, return the maximum number of fruits you can collect in a contiguous subarray with at most two distinct types.

sliding-window two-pointers hash-map
+25 pts 25m
Two Pointers & Sliding Window medium

Binary Subarray with Sum

Given a binary list and a goal sum, count the number of subarrays that add up to that goal.

sliding-window two-pointers subarray
+20 pts 20m
Two Pointers & Sliding Window medium

Boats to Save People – Two Pointer

Implement a function that returns the minimum number of boats needed to rescue everyone, given a weight limit and each boat carrying at most two people.

two-pointers sorting greedy
+25 pts 30m
Two Pointers & Sliding Window medium

Count Nice Subarrays

Count subarrays that contain exactly k odd numbers.

sliding-window two-pointers counting
+25 pts 30m
Stacks & Queues medium

Remove K Digits Stack

Remove k digits from a non-negative integer string to produce the smallest possible number using a stack-based approach.

stack string greedy
+25 pts 25m
Heaps & Priority Queues medium

Top K Frequent Elements

Given an integer array and a number k, return the k most frequent elements using a heap-based approach.

heap frequency counting
+25 pts 25m
Heaps & Priority Queues medium

Top K Frequent Elements

Given a list of integers and a number k, return the k most frequent elements in descending order of frequency, with ties broken by larger value.

heap frequency counter
+20 pts 25m
Heaps & Priority Queues medium

Task Scheduler Heap

Given a list of tasks and a cooldown, find the minimum number of CPU intervals needed to schedule all tasks without violating the cooldown.

heap queue greedy
+30 pts 25m
Heaps & Priority Queues medium

Meeting Rooms II with Heaps

Given a list of meeting intervals, compute the minimum number of rooms required using a heap-based approach.

heap intervals greedy
+25 pts 20m
Matrix & 2D Arrays medium

Number of Islands

Given a 2D grid of '1' (land) and '0' (water), count the number of islands surrounded by water.

matrix graph bfs
+25 pts 30m
Matrix & 2D Arrays medium

Number of Islands in a Matrix

Count the number of distinct islands (connected groups of 1s) in a 2D binary matrix.

matrix dfs bfs
+20 pts 20m
Matrix & 2D Arrays medium

Regions Cut by Slashes

Given a grid of slashes, count the number of connected regions formed by the slashes and the grid borders.

grid dfs union-find
+30 pts 30m
Datetime & Time Calculations medium

Julian Day Number Converter

Implement two functions to convert between Gregorian calendar dates and Julian Day Numbers using a standard formula.

datetime date-arithmetic algorithms
+20 pts 20m
Data Formats & Parsing medium

Extract JSON-like numbers

Parse a simplified JSON-like string without using the json module and sum all numbers found in it.

json parsing numbers
+14 pts 20m

Showing 72 challenges · medium

Guide: free Python coding challenges

Practice Python by solving problems

PythonSkillset challenges are hands-on coding exercises from beginner to advanced. Open a challenge, read the problem, write Python in the split-pane editor, and run tests with Pyodide — no install required.

How to use the arena

  1. Pick a category — basics, algorithms, strings, and more
  2. Open a challenge, read the statement, and edit the starter code
  3. Run tests, fix failures, then try a related quiz or tutorial lesson

Challenges vs tutorials and quizzes

Challenges test what you can build under constraints. For guided teaching, use our Python tutorials. For quick checks, try quizzes or copy snippets from code samples.