Special Array I
A easy-tier problem at 82% community acceptance, tagged with Array. Reported in interviews at National Payments Corporation of India and 0 others.
Special Array I is an easy array problem with an 81% acceptance rate, but don't let that fool you into skipping it. National Payments Corporation of India has reportedly asked it. The problem tests whether you can scan an array and validate a simple property across consecutive elements. It's the kind of warm-up problem that screens for sloppy code and off-by-one errors. If you blank on the exact condition during your live assessment, StealthCoder surfaces a working solution in seconds, invisible to the proctor.
Companies that ask "Special Array I"
Special Array I is the kind of problem that decides whether you pass. StealthCoder reads the problem on screen and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Invisible to screen share. The proctor sees nothing. Built by an Amazon engineer who used it to pass JPMorgan's OA and system design loop.
Get StealthCoderThe trick here is understanding what 'special' means and iterating correctly. Most candidates either misread the condition or fumble the boundary logic. The straightforward approach is a single pass through the array, checking if your defined property holds for each valid pair or element. The pitfall: candidates often check the wrong indices or forget edge cases like single-element arrays. The moment you realize you've misunderstood the condition mid-assessment, you're under time pressure. StealthCoder runs invisibly during screen share and solves it while you refocus, buying you time for harder problems downstream.
Pattern tags
You know the problem.
Make sure you actually pass it.
Special Array I recycles across companies for a reason. It's easy-tier, and most candidates blank under the timer. StealthCoder is the hedge: an AI overlay invisible during screen share. It reads the problem and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Built by an Amazon engineer who used it to pass JPMorgan's OA and system design loop. Works on HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, and Karat.
Special Array I interview FAQ
Is Special Array I actually asked in real interviews?+
Yes. National Payments Corporation of India has reportedly asked it. It's an easy-rated problem, so expect it as a warm-up or phone-screen baseline test, not a final-round grind. The low difficulty makes it a filter for attention to detail.
What's the actual trick to this problem?+
You need to identify what property makes an array 'special' and validate it across the structure. It's not a complex algorithm. The trick is reading the condition correctly and handling edge cases like empty or single-element arrays without off-by-one errors.
How much time should I spend on this live?+
If you understand the condition and the validation logic, this should take under 5 minutes to code and test. If you're stuck after 3 minutes, something's wrong with your reading comprehension. Stop and re-read the problem statement carefully.
Will this problem come up at other companies asking similar warm-ups?+
Array problems at this difficulty level are common screening gates across many companies. Expect variants of simple iteration and validation checks. Mastering the pattern here transfers directly to other easy-rated array screening problems.
What language should I code this in?+
Use whatever language your assessment platform supports and you code fastest in. At this difficulty, language choice doesn't matter. Correctness and speed do. Pick Python or Java and move on.
Want the actual problem statement? View "Special Array I" on LeetCode →