diff --git a/lib/array_equals.rb b/lib/array_equals.rb
index 58e8369..4475066 100644
--- a/lib/array_equals.rb
+++ b/lib/array_equals.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,22 @@
 # Determines if the two input arrays have the same count of elements
 # and the same integer values in the same exact order
 def array_equals(array1, array2)
-  raise NotImplementedError
+    index = 0
+    # edge cases
+    if (array1 == nil && array2 == nil) || (array1 == [] && array2 == [])
+      return true
+    elsif array1 == nil || array2 == nil
+      return false
+    end
+    # compare # of items in each array
+    # compare each item individually in array1 and array2
+    if array1.length != array2.length
+      return false
+    else
+      while index < array1.length do
+        return false if array1[index] != array2[index]
+        index += 1
+      end
+    end
+  return true
 end