Problem database last updated: June 20, 2025
10 problems · 1 Easy, 4 Medium, 5 Hard · Ranked #148 of 458
1 Easy
10% · avg 23%
4 Medium
40% · avg 59%
5 Hard
50% · avg 18%
Based on 10 reported problems, Coursera interviews are significantly harder than average - 50% Hard vs 18% across all companies.
Compared to the industry average, Coursera puts unusual emphasis on counting (20% of problems, 6x the industry average), math (40% of problems, 3.2x the industry average), sorting (40% of problems, 2.8x the industry average). If you're short on time, these are the categories to double down on.
The most common topics are array (50%), string (50%), math (40%), sorting (40%). Problems below are sorted by frequency, the ones at the top are asked most often.
| Problem | Difficulty | Frequency | Topics | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Text Justification Given an array of strings words and a width maxWidth, format the text such that each line has exactly maxWidth characters and is fully (left and right) justifie... | Hard | Very Likely | arraystringsimulation | Solve |
N-th Tribonacci Number The Tribonacci sequence Tn is defined as follows: | Easy | Very Likely | mathdynamic-programmingmemoization | Solve |
Special Binary String Special binary strings are binary strings with the following two properties: | Hard | Very Likely | stringdivide-and-conquersorting | Solve |
Number of Music Playlists Your music player contains n different songs. You want to listen to goal songs (not necessarily different) during your trip. To avoid boredom, you will create a... | Hard | Very Likely | mathdynamic-programmingcombinatorics | Solve |
Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements Given an integer array nums of size n, return the minimum number of moves required to make all array elements equal. | Medium | Very Likely | arraymath | Solve |
Minimum Increment to Make Array Unique You are given an integer array nums. In one move, you can pick an index i where 0 <= i < nums.length and increment nums[i] by 1. | Medium | Very Likely | arraygreedysorting | Solve |
Reaching Points Given four integers sx, sy, tx, and ty, return true if it is possible to convert the point (sx, sy) to the point (tx, ty) through some operations, or false othe... | Hard | Very Likely | math | Solve |
Rank Teams by Votes In a special ranking system, each voter gives a rank from highest to lowest to all teams participating in the competition. | Medium | Very Likely | arrayhash-tablestring | Solve |
Search Suggestions System You are given an array of strings products and a string searchWord. | Medium | Likely | arraystringbinary-search | Solve |
Wildcard Matching Given an input string (s) and a pattern (p), implement wildcard pattern matching with support for '?' and '' where: | Hard | Likely | stringdynamic-programminggreedy | Solve |
Text Justification
SolveGiven an array of strings words and a width maxWidth, format the text such that each line has exactly maxWidth characters and is fully (left and right) justifie...
N-th Tribonacci Number
SolveThe Tribonacci sequence Tn is defined as follows:
Special Binary String
SolveSpecial binary strings are binary strings with the following two properties:
Number of Music Playlists
SolveYour music player contains n different songs. You want to listen to goal songs (not necessarily different) during your trip. To avoid boredom, you will create a...
Minimum Moves to Equal Array Elements
SolveGiven an integer array nums of size n, return the minimum number of moves required to make all array elements equal.
Minimum Increment to Make Array Unique
SolveYou are given an integer array nums. In one move, you can pick an index i where 0 <= i < nums.length and increment nums[i] by 1.
Reaching Points
SolveGiven four integers sx, sy, tx, and ty, return true if it is possible to convert the point (sx, sy) to the point (tx, ty) through some operations, or false othe...
Rank Teams by Votes
SolveIn a special ranking system, each voter gives a rank from highest to lowest to all teams participating in the competition.
Search Suggestions System
SolveYou are given an array of strings products and a string searchWord.
Wildcard Matching
SolveGiven an input string (s) and a pattern (p), implement wildcard pattern matching with support for '?' and '' where:
Frequency scores are based on crowdsourced interview reports. A higher score means the problem has been reported more often in recent Coursera interviews.
Very Likely
75-100%
Likely
50-74%
Sometimes
25-49%
Rare
0-24%
Coursera interviews focus heavily on array, string, math problems. If you're short on time, these are the categories to prioritize. The problems on this page are sorted by frequency, so start from the top and work your way down.
Beyond solving problems, practice explaining your approach. Coursera interviewers care about your thought process - how you break down a problem, consider edge cases, and evaluate tradeoffs between solutions. A clean O(n) solution you can explain clearly beats an O(log n) solution you can't articulate.
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Coursera has been reported to ask 10 distinct coding problems. The most common topics are array, string, math. 1 are Easy difficulty, 4 are Medium, and 5 are Hard. Problems are sorted by frequency - the ones at the top are asked most often.
Based on 10 reported problems, Coursera interviews are significantly harder than average - 50% Hard vs 18% across all companies. 40% of questions are Medium difficulty. Focus on the high-frequency Medium problems first, then work through the Hard ones.
Start with the highest-frequency problems listed on this page. Focus on the core topics: array, string, math. Practice solving them under time pressure and explaining your approach out loud. Mock interviews with AI can simulate the real experience.
Simulate a real Coursera coding interview with an AI interviewer. Get a scorecard with specific feedback on your problem-solving, code quality, and communication.
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