Answer: Python Puzzler #530

The answer is C. 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
1-4banana
2-3pear
3-2melon
4-1carrot

The code again

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

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