Answer: Python Puzzler #2407

The answer is A. The program prints:

melon

This answer was checked by running the program for real.

Why?

Python counts list positions from 0, so position 1 is the second item.

Trace table

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

positionnegative positionitem
0-5banana
1-4melon
2-3carrot
3-2apple
4-1pear

The code again

basket = ["banana", "melon", "carrot", "apple", "pear"]
print(basket[1])

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