Final answer:
The load factor lambda in a hash table is calculated by dividing the number of elements by the table size, which helps in determining how full the hash table is.
Step-by-step explanation:
In a hash table, the load λ (lambda) is calculated by dividing the number of elements by the table size. This means that the correct option is b. The load factor, as it is also called, is an important metric for evaluating the performance of a hash table. It is a measure of how full the hash table is, and a higher load factor signifies that the hash table is more filled up, which could lead to more collisions. Conversely, a lower load factor indicates that there are more empty slots relative to the number of elements, which usually means fewer collisions but possibly a waste of memory.