Answer: Python Puzzler #2434

The answer is A. The program prints:

mango

This answer was checked by running the program for real.

Why?

Python counts list positions from 0, so position 2 is the third item.

Trace table

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

positionnegative positionitem
0-5carrot
1-4pear
2-3mango
3-2banana
4-1plum

The code again

basket = ["carrot", "pear", "mango", "banana", "plum"]
print(basket[2])

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