## Problem Given a list of integers, group them into clusters such that any two elements in the same cluster differ by at most `k`. Each element belongs to exactly one cluster. Return the clusters sorted by their minimum element, with each cluster sorted in ascending order. ```python def cluster_elements(nums: list[int], k: int) -> list[list[int]]: ``` ## Example ``` nums = [1, 3, 6, 10, 11, 12, 20], k = 3 Output: [[1, 3], [6], [10, 11, 12], [20]] nums = [5, 5, 5, 5], k = 0 Output: [[5, 5, 5, 5]] ``` Note: clustering is greedy -- sort the array, then start a new cluster whenever the gap between consecutive elements exceeds `k`. ## Follow-ups 1. What if elements are 2D points and distance is Euclidean? How does the greedy approach break down? 2. Modify the function to return only clusters of size >= `min_size`. 3. What is the time complexity? Can it be done in O(n) if the input is already sorted? 4. How would you handle duplicate values when `k = 0`?

InterviewDB Question

Elements Clustering - Group Points by Distance Threshold

phone

Question Details

Problem Given a list of integers, group them into clusters such that any two elements in the same cluster differ by at most k. Each element belongs to exactly one cluster. Return the clusters sorted by their minimum element, with each cluster sorted…

Full Details

🔒

Unlock full leaked content

Full insider details, leaked discussions, and candidate experiences.

Get Premium →

Topics

Coding Onsite Phone

More from Google

Reddit Why did you create those day in a life video? Reddit It works Reddit Brave Software director screening went south fast, these companies are weird Reddit Job finished Reddit Anxiety and brain freeze during interview

← All Google questions Google Software Engineer Questions → All Graph Questions →