The keys 5, 28, 19, 15, 26, 33, 12, 17, 10 are inserted into a hash table using the hash function h(k) = k 9. The collisions are resolved by chaining. After all the keys are inserted, the length of the longest chain is __________. (answer in integer)

GATE CSE 2026 Session 2 Q30: Longest chain in a hash table with h(k) = k mod 9

Programming and Data Structures
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NAT
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The keys 5, 28, 19, 15, 26, 33, 12, 17, 10 are inserted into a hash table using the hash function $h(k) = k \bmod 9$ . The collisions are resolved by chaining. After all the keys are inserted, the length of the longest chain is __________. (answer in integer)

Try it: numerical answer: type the value

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Numerical answer. No negative marking.

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Answer: 3 (official GATE 2026 final answer key)

Concept used: With chaining, each slot's chain holds all keys hashing to it.

First step: Compute $k \bmod 9$ for every key and count how many land in each slot.

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Source: official GATE 2026 Session 2 CS question paper and final answer key, organised by IIT Guwahati. Question paper · Answer key

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GATE CSE 2026 Session 2 Q30: Longest chain in a hash table with h(k) = k mod 9

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