Answer: Python Puzzler #2522

The answer is C. 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 -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
0-6banana
1-5plum
2-4carrot
3-3grape
4-2melon
5-1apple

The code again

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

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