Section 1Understand Problem
Section 01
Understand the problem
Restate the problem precisely. Interviewers reward candidates who pause, define the contract, and name the guarantees before coding.
Problem statement
You are given an integer array `coins` representing coins of different denominations and an integer `amount` representing a total amount of money. Return the fewest number of coins that you need to make up that amount. If that amount of money cannot be made up by any combination of the coins, return `-1`. You may assume that you have an infinite number of each kind of coin.
Example
coins = [1, 2, 5], amount = 11 → 3
Constraints
1 ≤ coins.length ≤ 12 · 1 ≤ coins[i] ≤ 2³¹ − 1 · 0 ≤ amount ≤ 10⁴
Audio recording unsupported on this browser.
WPM—Fillers0Pace—Thinking0%
Explain the problem in your own words
0 words0 chars
AI Review
Write your thinking above first.
Once you've drafted a response, click Submit for AI review and a senior engineer will critique your reasoning.
Ready to submit Section 1?
The reviewer will check whether you stated inputs, output, guarantees, and any assumption you flagged.
Write at least a couple of sentences explaining the problem before submitting.