Answer: Python Puzzler #2464

The answer is A. The program prints:

plum

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 -3 means item number 3 from the end.

Trace table

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

positionnegative positionitem
0-4carrot
1-3plum
2-2melon
3-1apple

The code again

basket = ["carrot", "plum", "melon", "apple"]
print(basket[-3])

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