Leetcode #1010: Pairs of Songs With Total Durations Divisible by 60
In this guide, we solve Leetcode #1010 Pairs of Songs With Total Durations Divisible by 60 in Python and focus on the core idea that makes the solution efficient.
You will see the intuition, the step-by-step method, and a clean Python implementation you can use in interviews.

Problem Statement
You are given a list of songs where the ith song has a duration of time[i] seconds. Return the number of pairs of songs for which their total duration in seconds is divisible by 60.
Quick Facts
- Difficulty: Medium
- Premium: No
- Tags: Array, Hash Table, Counting
Intuition
Fast membership checks and value lookups are the heart of this problem, which makes a hash map the natural choice.
By storing what we have already seen (or counts/indexes), we can answer the question in one pass without backtracking.
Approach
Scan the input once, using the map to detect when the condition is satisfied and to update state as you go.
This keeps the solution linear while remaining easy to explain in an interview setting.
Steps:
- Initialize a hash map for seen items or counts.
- Iterate through the input, querying/updating the map.
- Return the first valid result or the final computed value.
Example
Input: time = [30,20,150,100,40]
Output: 3
Explanation: Three pairs have a total duration divisible by 60:
(time[0] = 30, time[2] = 150): total duration 180
(time[1] = 20, time[3] = 100): total duration 120
(time[1] = 20, time[4] = 40): total duration 60
Python Solution
class Solution:
def numPairsDivisibleBy60(self, time: List[int]) -> int:
cnt = Counter(t % 60 for t in time)
ans = sum(cnt[x] * cnt[60 - x] for x in range(1, 30))
ans += cnt[0] * (cnt[0] - 1) // 2
ans += cnt[30] * (cnt[30] - 1) // 2
return ans
Complexity
The time complexity is O(n). The space complexity is O(n).
Edge Cases and Pitfalls
Watch for boundary values, empty inputs, and duplicate values where applicable. If the problem involves ordering or constraints, confirm the invariant is preserved at every step.
Summary
This Python solution focuses on the essential structure of the problem and keeps the implementation interview-friendly while meeting the constraints.