Maximize the Average of an Exactly K-Length Segment
Company: Amazon
Role: Software Engineer
Category: Coding & Algorithms
Difficulty: easy
Interview Round: Other
### Problem
Return the greatest average among contiguous subarrays of nums containing exactly k elements. Answers with calculation error less than 10^-5 are accepted.
```cpp
class Solution {
public:
double findMaxAverage(vector<int>& nums, int k);
};
```
### Examples
**Example 1:**
```text
nums = [4,-2,6,8], k = 2
Output: 7.0
Explanation: The final pair has sum 14 and average 7.
```
**Example 2:**
```text
nums = [-5,-1,-7], k = 1
Output: -1.0
Explanation: A one-element window selects the largest value.
```
### Constraints
- The n-element array and window satisfy `1 <= k <= n <= 100000`. Every value is in -10000..10000.
### Clarifying Questions
Use exactly k elements, preserve negative averages and retain the source's acceptance tolerance.
```hint Read the boundary condition
Can equal-length windows be compared using their sums alone?
```
### Contract considerations
Use exactly k elements, preserve negative averages and retain the source's acceptance tolerance.
Overview: Maximize the Average of an Exactly K-Length Segment. Return the greatest average among contiguous subarrays of nums containing exactly k elements.
Maximize the Average of an Exactly K-Length Segment
Amazon
Sep 11, 2026
easySoftware EngineerOtherCoding & Algorithms
0
0
Problem
Return the greatest average among contiguous subarrays of nums containing exactly k elements. Answers with calculation error less than 10^-5 are accepted.
class Solution {
public:
double findMaxAverage(vector<int>& nums, int k);
};
Examples
Example 1:
nums = [4,-2,6,8], k = 2
Output: 7.0
Explanation: The final pair has sum 14 and average 7.
Example 2:
nums = [-5,-1,-7], k = 1
Output: -1.0
Explanation: A one-element window selects the largest value.
Constraints
The n-element array and window satisfy
1 <= k <= n <= 100000
. Every value is in -10000..10000.
Clarifying Questions Guidance
Use exactly k elements, preserve negative averages and retain the source's acceptance tolerance.
Contract considerations
Use exactly k elements, preserve negative averages and retain the source's acceptance tolerance.