Answer: Python Puzzler #422

The answer is B. The program prints:

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

The code again

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

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