I did the task but i tried to copy the passed array using Arrays.copyOf(a, a.length). This did copy it but also it was mirroring my alternations to the original. So i had to copy oldschool with a for loops.... Shouldn't .copyOf() create a distinct copy of the given array that is not affecting the original? Or is there a better way to get there anyways? I can provide the code if needed. thaks!