freecodecamp--freecodecamp/curriculum/challenges/english/blocks/daily-coding-challenges-python/69a890af247de743333bd4d0.md

id, title, challengeType, dashedName

id	title	challengeType	dashedName
69a890af247de743333bd4d0	Challenge 227: Cooldown Time	29	challenge-227

--description--

Given two timestamps, the first representing when a user finished an exam, and the second representing the current time, determine whether the user can take an exam again.

• Both timestamps will be given the format: "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS", for example "2026-03-25T14:00:00". Note that the time is 24-hour clock.
• A user must wait at least 48 hours before retaking an exam.

--hints--

can_retake("2026-03-23T08:00:00", "2026-03-25T14:00:00") should return True.

({test: () => { runPython(`
from unittest import TestCase
TestCase().assertIs(can_retake("2026-03-23T08:00:00", "2026-03-25T14:00:00"), True)`)
}})

can_retake("2026-03-24T14:00:00", "2026-03-25T10:00:00") should return False.

({test: () => { runPython(`
from unittest import TestCase
TestCase().assertIs(can_retake("2026-03-24T14:00:00", "2026-03-25T10:00:00"), False)`)
}})

can_retake("2026-03-23T09:25:00", "2026-03-25T09:25:00") should return True.

({test: () => { runPython(`
from unittest import TestCase
TestCase().assertIs(can_retake("2026-03-23T09:25:00", "2026-03-25T09:25:00"), True)`)
}})

can_retake("2026-03-25T11:50:00", "2026-03-23T11:49:59") should return False.

({test: () => { runPython(`
from unittest import TestCase
TestCase().assertIs(can_retake("2026-03-25T11:50:00", "2026-03-23T11:49:59"), False)`)
}})

--seed--

--seed-contents--

def can_retake(finish_time, current_time):

    return finish_time

--solutions--

from datetime import datetime, timedelta

def can_retake(finish_time, current_time):
    fmt = "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S"
    finished_dt = datetime.strptime(finish_time, fmt)
    current_dt = datetime.strptime(current_time, fmt)
    diff = current_dt - finished_dt
    cooldown = timedelta(hours=48)

    return diff >= cooldown