Coursera coding interview
questions, leaked.
11 problems reported across recent Coursera interviews. Top patterns: array, string, math. The list below is what most reported candidates actually saw, plus the honest play if you can't grind all of it.
Coursera's coding assessment leans heavy on array and string manipulation. You're looking at 11 problems across a skewed distribution: one easy, five medium, five hard. Arrays and strings each appear in roughly half the problems, so if you're weak on either, that's your first gap to close. Math patterns (including combinatorics and memoization) show up in four problems, often bundled with DP. The hard problems are legitimately hard: Text Justification, Reaching Points, Number of Music Playlists. This is where StealthCoder becomes your safety net. If you freeze on a math-heavy DP problem mid-assessment, you need a working solution in seconds, invisible to the proctor.
Top problems at Coursera
| # | Problem | Diff | Frequency | Pass % | Patterns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Text Justification | HARD | 100.0 | 48% | Array · String · Simulation |
| 02 | N-th Tribonacci Number | EASY | 100.0 | 64% | Math · Dynamic Programming · Memoization |
| 03 | Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements | MEDIUM | 97.8 | 58% | Array · Math |
| 04 | Reaching Points | HARD | 97.8 | 34% | Math |
| 05 | Minimum Increment to Make Array Unique | MEDIUM | 97.8 | 60% | Array · Greedy · Sorting |
| 06 | Special Binary String | HARD | 97.8 | 64% | String · Recursion |
| 07 | Number of Music Playlists | HARD | 97.8 | 60% | Math · Dynamic Programming · Combinatorics |
| 08 | Highest Grade For Each Student | MEDIUM | 97.8 | 71% | Database |
| 09 | Rank Teams by Votes | MEDIUM | 89.6 | 59% | Array · Hash Table · String |
| 10 | Search Suggestions System | MEDIUM | 70.0 | 65% | Array · String · Binary Search |
| 11 | Wildcard Matching | HARD | 60.7 | 30% | String · Dynamic Programming · Greedy |
Frequencies derived from public community-tagged interview reports. Click a row to view on LeetCode.
You have a week, maybe less. You can't out-grind the list above. StealthCoder runs invisibly during the actual Coursera OA. The proctor cannot see it. Screen share cannot detect it. Made by an Amazon engineer who watched the leaked-problem repo become an industry secret. He decided you should have it too.
Get StealthCoder- array5 · 45%
- string5 · 45%
- math4 · 36%
- sorting3 · 27%
- dynamic programming3 · 27%
- counting2 · 18%
- greedy2 · 18%
- recursion2 · 18%
- simulation1 · 9%
- hash table1 · 9%
The distribution signals what Coursera actually cares about: can you manipulate arrays and strings under pressure, and do you understand math-driven optimization. Sorting and counting appear frequently but never alone, which means they're solving subproblems within larger array challenges. Dynamic programming shows up in three problems, always paired with math or strings, so classic DP pattern recognition isn't enough here. The five hard problems are your real test. Text Justification and Wildcard Matching require both string fluency and algorithmic thinking. Reaching Points is pure math. Number of Music Playlists combines DP with combinatorics. Drill those four first, then shore up medium-difficulty array and string work. Your edge on test day: if you hit a wall on math reasoning or DP formulation, StealthCoder surfaces a working implementation in real time while the proctor sees nothing.
Companies with similar patterns
If you prepped for Coursera, these companies recycle ~60% of the same topics.
You've seen the list.
Now make sure you pass Coursera.
Memorizing every problem above in a week is a fantasy. StealthCoder is the hedge: an AI overlay that's invisible during screen share. It reads the problem on screen and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Made by an Amazon engineer who watched the leaked-problem repo become an industry secret. He decided you should have it too. Works on HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, and Karat.
Coursera interview FAQ
How many array problems will I actually see?+
Arrays touch 5 of the 11 problems reported. Most aren't pure array problems though. They're bundled with strings, sorting, or math. Focus on array manipulation inside string contexts first (Text Justification, Search Suggestions System), then pure array optimization (Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements, Minimum Increment to Make Array Unique).
Is dynamic programming required?+
Three of the 11 problems explicitly use DP, but they're all hard. N-th Tribonacci is easy memoization. Number of Music Playlists and Wildcard Matching are genuinely complex. You don't need DP expertise to pass, but missing it costs you on hard problems. DP is a tie-breaker, not the foundation.
What should I study first?+
String and array fundamentals, then sorting and greedy algorithms, then math. Coursera's problems nest these together. Text Justification combines all three. Start with Search Suggestions System and Rank Teams by Votes to see how strings, arrays, and sorting interact in real problems.
Are the hard problems actually solvable in a live interview?+
Reaching Points is pure mathematical reasoning, no standard algorithm. Text Justification is implementation-heavy simulation. Wildcard Matching requires DP insight. All five hard problems are tough under pressure. One or two medium problems will feel harder than expected because of edge cases. Plan to solve 7 to 9 of 11 and consider that a strong session.
What's the biggest risk on assessment day?+
Hitting a hard string or math problem with no clear pattern, wasting 15 minutes, and running out of time for the medium problems you could've solved. Math-driven problems like Reaching Points and Number of Music Playlists stall candidates who rely on brute force. That's where a real-time solution tool prevents a cascade failure.