During deletion, after identifying the node to delete and its predecessor, what is the next step?

• A. Adjust the predecessor's link to bypass the deleted node and deallocate its memory.
• B. Move the head pointer to the deleted node.
• C. Set the data of the node to delete to zero.
• D. Insert a copy of the node at the end.

Answer: (A)

In a singly linked list, removing a node is done by unlinking it from the chain. Once you have the node to delete and its predecessor, you adjust the predecessor’s next pointer to bypass the deleted node and point to the node that follows it. This effectively removes the node from the list. If your language requires manual memory management, you then deallocate the deleted node’s memory to avoid leaks.

This step is the direct action that preserves the continuity of the list: the previous node now connects to the node after the one being removed, so the removed node is no longer part of the sequence. Edge cases exist—if you were deleting the head node (no predecessor), you would move the head pointer to the next node; if deleting the last node, you’d set the predecessor’s next to null. But with a known predecessor, bypassing the node is the correct next move.

Setting the node’s data to zero or inserting a copy elsewhere does not remove it from the list, and moving the head pointer is only appropriate when the head itself is the node being deleted.