Returning and requesting a memory slot

What this C++ memory-management question tests

This is a medium-difficulty C++ question that probes your understanding of how memory allocation and deallocation work in practice, and what state a program enters after certain operations. It rewards close attention to language semantics and the lifetime of dynamically allocated resources.

To answer correctly, you need to trace through the code carefully, keeping track of what happens to pointers and the heap after key operations. The question tests whether you can predict program output reliably—a skill that matters in any role where correctness is non-negotiable, from systems engineering to quantitative development.

• Pointer semantics and dereferencing
• Memory lifecycle and heap state
• Undefined behaviour vs. well-defined outcomes