Code RoomPartition array into k groups
HardPrep Room Coding #1048

Partition array into k groups

CodingDistributed systemsAlgorithms & data structuresSenior–Staff~35 min

Partition the array `a` of non-negative integers into exactly `k` contiguous non-empty groups. The cost of a group is the square of its sum; the total cost is the sum of group costs. Return the minimum achievable total cost. Assume 1 <= k <= len(a).

Implement
min_squared_group_cost(a: list[int], k: int) → int
Examples
in[[1,2,3,4],2]out52
What a strong answer looks like

State your approach and its time/space complexity out loud before you optimize. Handle the edge cases (empty input, duplicates, overflow), and say why you chose this over the brute force. Green tests are the floor, not the grade.

0:00 of about 35 min
InputExpectedGot
[[1,2,3,4],2]52not run yetsample