Answer: Python Puzzler #2799

The answer is A. The program prints:

apple

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
0-5apple
1-4banana
2-3pear
3-2carrot
4-1mango

The code again

basket = ["apple", "banana", "pear", "carrot", "mango"]
print(basket[-5])

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