Answer: Python Puzzler #2401

The answer is D. The program prints:

banana

This answer was checked by running the program for real.

Why?

A negative position counts from the end: -1 is the last item, -2 the one before it. So -2 means item number 2 from the end.

Trace table

A trace table follows the program step by step. Here’s this one:

positionnegative positionitem
0-4grape
1-3pear
2-2banana
3-1carrot

The code again

basket = ["grape", "pear", "banana", "carrot"]
print(basket[-2])

Try it: change one number in the program and predict the new output before you run it.