Answer: Python Puzzler #2519

The answer is D. The program prints:

grape

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 -5 means item number 5 from the end.

Trace table

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

positionnegative positionitem
0-6carrot
1-5grape
2-4plum
3-3pear
4-2melon
5-1banana

The code again

basket = ["carrot", "grape", "plum", "pear", "melon", "banana"]
print(basket[-5])

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