Answer: Python Puzzler #581

The answer is D. The program prints:

melon
What the program prints
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
0-5apple
1-4melon
2-3pear
3-2banana
4-1carrot

The code again

basket = ["apple", "melon", "pear", "banana", "carrot"]
print(basket[1])

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