Answer: Python Puzzler #399

The answer is D. The program prints:

pear
What the program prints
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 -1 means item number 1 from the end.

Trace table

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

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

The code again

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

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