D E Shaw Placement Papers Questions, Syllabus – FACE Prep

D E Shaw Placement Papers Questions, Syllabus – FACE Prep

DE Shaw Placement Papers | Syllabus & Test Pattern Guide

Introduction

Preparing for DE Shaw placements? You’re in the right place! This guide covers everything you need to know about DE Shaw’s recruitment process, test pattern, syllabus, and recently asked questions. Practicing these will give you an edge in clearing the placement rounds.

DE Shaw Recruitment Process

The DE Shaw recruitment process typically consists of multiple rounds designed to evaluate a candidate’s aptitude, technical proficiency, and problem-solving skills. The key rounds include:

  1. Online Test (Aptitude + Technical)
  2. Technical Interview Rounds
  3. HR Interview

DE Shaw Placement Test Pattern

The DE Shaw online test is designed to assess a candidate’s quantitative ability, logical reasoning, verbal ability, and technical skills.

  • Total Duration: 60 minutes
  • Negative Marking: 0.25 for each incorrect answer

Test Sections:

Percentages, Profit & Loss, Permutations & Combinations, Probability, Speed-Time-Distance, Boats & Streams, Time & Work, Data Interpretation, Mixtures & Allegations

Syllogisms, Blood Relations, Coding-Decoding, Seating Arrangements, Puzzles, Series Completion

Reading Comprehension, Sentence Correction, Synonyms & Antonyms, Fill in the Blanks

Data Structures, DBMS, OOPS, Networking, Dynamic Programming, Tree Traversals


DE Shaw Placement Syllabus

Quantitative Aptitude

Based on analysis of previous DE Shaw placement papers, key topics include:

  • Percentages
  • Profit & Loss
  • Permutation & Combination
  • Probability
  • Speed, Time, and Distance
  • Boats & Streams
  • Time & Work
  • Data Interpretation
  • Mixtures & Allegations

Technical & Coding Topics

The coding section includes MCQs and programming challenges related to:

  • Data Structures (Arrays, Linked Lists, Trees, Graphs, Stacks, Queues)
  • Database Management Systems (DBMS)
  • Object-Oriented Programming (OOPS)
  • Networking Concepts
  • Algorithm Optimization (Dynamic Programming, Greedy Algorithms, Divide & Conquer)

DE Shaw Recently Asked Placement Questions

Aptitude Questions

  1. 139 participants played a tournament where each match eliminates a team. How many matches were played to determine the winner?
    Answer: 138
  2. A typist can complete a task in 2 hours, another in 3 hours. How much time will they take together?
    Answer: 1 hour 12 minutes
  3. How many squares are there on an 8×8 chessboard?
    Answer: 204
  4. Find the next term in the sequence: 12, 6, 6, 9, 18, ?
    Answer: 45
  5. Two students took an exam, and the difference between their scores was 9. The higher scorer had 56% of the total marks. Find their marks.
    Answer: 42 & 33

Technical & Coding Questions

Problem Statement:
You are given an array containing N distinct numbers from 1 to N+1. One number is missing. Find the missing number efficiently.

Example:

Input:
arr = [1, 2, 4, 5, 6]

Output:
3

Solution Explanation:

Since the numbers are in the range 1 to N+1, we can use the formula for the sum of the first N+1 natural numbers: Sum=(N+1)×(N+2)/2

Subtract the sum of the given array from this value to get the missing number.


2. Chocolate Eating Problem (Sorting & Priority Queue)

Problem Statement:
A boy eats chocolates every day. He eats the sweetest chocolate first, followed by chocolates with the same sweetness but lower bitterness. If two chocolates have the same sweetness and bitterness, he eats them in lexicographical order of names.

You are given three arrays:

  1. sweetness[] – Chocolate sweetness levels.
  2. bitterness[] – Chocolate bitterness levels.
  3. names[] – Chocolate names.

You need to return the name of the chocolate eaten each day.

Example:

Input:

sweetness[] = {2, 3, 7, 3, 2, 2}
bitterness[] = {5, 4, 1, 4, 9, 3}
names[] = {"a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f"}
days[] = {1, 3, 5}

Output:

c
d
b

Solution Explanation:

If both sweetness and bitterness are the same, sort lexicographically.

Use a max-heap (priority queue) to sort chocolates based on sweetness (descending).

If two chocolates have the same sweetness, sort based on bitterness (ascending).


3. Minimum Cuts for Palindrome Substrings

Problem Statement:
Given a string, determine the minimum number of cuts required to break it into palindromic substrings.

Example:

Input:
str = "abccbc"

Output:
1

Explanation:
The string "abccbc" can be broken into "abcc|bc" (both are palindromes), so only one cut is needed.

Solution Explanation:

  1. Use dynamic programming (dp[i] stores the minimum cuts required for substring s[0:i]).
  2. Check all possible palindromes and minimize cuts.

4. Equalizing Coin Piles (Greedy Algorithm)

Problem Statement:
You are given an array where each value represents a pile of coins. You can add or remove coins to make all piles equal at a given cost per operation.

Find the minimum cost to equalize all piles.

Example:

Input:

piles = {3, 1, 5, 10}
addCost = 1
removeCost = 1

Output:

9

Solution Explanation:

  1. Find median of the array (mid).
  2. Adjust all values to mid, keeping track of total cost.
  3. Binary Search on possible values to find the optimal cost.

Preparation Tips for DE Shaw Placement

  • Aptitude: Practice time-bound problem-solving using previous years’ placement papers.
  • Technical: Strengthen core subjects like Data Structures, DBMS, OOPS, and Networking.
  • Coding: Regularly solve problems on platforms like LeetCode, CodeChef, and HackerRank.
  • Mock Tests: Take full-length mock exams to simulate real placement conditions.
  • Interview Preparation: Revise your resume, work on projects, and prepare answers for HR questions.

Conclusion

Success in DE Shaw placements depends on thorough preparation, strategic problem-solving, and consistent practice. Utilize this guide to strengthen your skills and boost your confidence.

DE Shaw Placement Papers | Syllabus & Test Pattern Guide
c