Python coding challenges: "subset sum"

All Easy Medium Hard

All Python Basics Strings & Text Lists & Arrays Dicts & Sets Functions & Closures OOP & Classes Data Structures & Algorithms Advanced Python Iterators & Generators Decorators & Context Managers Error Handling & Exceptions Regular Expressions Math & Number Theory Bit Manipulation Dynamic Programming Trees & Binary Trees Graphs & Graph Algorithms Recursion & Backtracking Greedy Algorithms Binary Search Two Pointers & Sliding Window Stacks & Queues Heaps & Priority Queues Linked Lists Matrix & 2D Arrays Datetime & Time Calculations Data Formats & Parsing SQL & SQLite Numpy & Vectorized Computing Cryptography & Hashing

Dynamic Programming medium

Subset Sum Exists

Given a list of positive integers and a target sum, return whether some subset adds up exactly to the target.

subset sum dynamic programming knapsack

+25 pts 30m

Recursion & Backtracking medium

Partition Equal Subset Sum (Backtracking)

Write a function that uses backtracking to decide if a list of positive integers can be partitioned into two subsets with equal sum.

backtracking subset-sum partition

+25 pts 25m

Greedy Algorithms hard

Patching Array

Given a sorted array of positive integers and a target n, find the minimum number of patches to make every number from 1 to n representable as a subset sum.

greedy arrays prefix-sums

+40 pts 30m

Showing 3 challenges

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

Pick a category — basics, algorithms, strings, and more
Open a challenge, read the statement, and edit the starter code
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.

Python Coding Challenges