Answer: Python Puzzler #2816

The answer is C. The program prints:

banana

This answer was checked by running the program for real.

Why?

Python counts list positions from 0, so position 1 is the second item.

Trace table

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

positionnegative positionitem
0-4apple
1-3banana
2-2plum
3-1mango

The code again

basket = ["apple", "banana", "plum", "mango"]
print(basket[1])

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