Which statement best describes the role of a node's link field in a singly linked list?

• A. It points to the next node in the sequence
• B. It stores the node's payload
• C. It stores the memory address of the list
• D. It is always null for the last node

Answer: (A)

In a singly linked list, the node’s link field is the mechanism that connects nodes by holding the reference to the next node in the sequence. This is what allows us to traverse from one node to the following one, building the chain of elements. The link field is not used to store the node’s payload; that’s the data portion. The list’s starting point (the head) is managed separately, not by this link. It’s true that the last node’s link is typically null, which marks the end of the list, but that’s a consequence of the design rather than the primary role of the link field. So, the best description is that the link field points to the next node in the sequence.