What is the expected output of the following code? numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] nums = numbers[2 : ] print(nums)

Question

Options

• A[2]
• B[3, 4, 5]
• CThe program will cause an error.
• D[2, 3, 4, 5]

• A
  10% (6)
• B
  69% (41)
• C
  5% (3)
• D
  15% (9)

Explanation

numbers[2:] uses Python's list slicing syntax, which extracts elements starting at index 2 through the end of the list. Since Python uses zero-based indexing, index 2 holds the value 3, so the slice returns [3, 4, 5] - making B correct.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A ([2]) confuses the slice index 2 with the value 2; the number is an index position, not a filter.
• D ([2, 3, 4, 5]) is what numbers[1:] would return - off by one, since index 1 holds the value 2.
• C (error) is incorrect; Python handles out-of-range slice indices gracefully and never raises an error for slices.

Memory tip: Think of list[start:] as "start at this index, take everything after." Since Python counts from zero, [2:] means "skip the first 2 elements" - so [1, 2] are skipped and [3, 4, 5] remain.

No community discussion yet for this question.