Answer: Python Puzzler #2763

The answer is A. The program prints:

banana

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
0-6mango
1-5carrot
2-4banana
3-3plum
4-2pear
5-1melon

The code again

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

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