PCEP Computer Programming and Python Fundamentals Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✓

  [20, 30, 40]

  Why this is correct

  Slicing uses a start index that is included and a stop index that is excluded. Starting at index one includes twenty, and stopping at index four excludes the element at index four, which is fifty. The elements at indexes one, two, and three are twenty, thirty, and forty, so the resulting list contains exactly those three values.

• ✗

  [20, 30, 40, 50]

  Why it's wrong here

  Including fifty would mean the stop index was five or omitted entirely, as in values[1:] or values[1:5]. The stop value four is exclusive, so the element at index four is never part of the result. This option treats the stop index as inclusive, which contradicts Python's slicing rules.

• ✗

  [10, 20, 30]

  Why it's wrong here

  This slice corresponds to values[0:3], which begins at the first element and stops before index three. The code starts at index one and stops before index four, shifting the window one position to the right. The element ten at index zero is excluded, and forty is included, so this option does not match the code.

• ✗

  [10, 20, 30, 40]

  Why it's wrong here

  This slice would require starting at index zero and stopping before index four, written as values[0:4]. The code instead starts at index one, which skips the first element, ten. The stopping index four is also exclusive, so the element at index four, fifty, is omitted. This option therefore misreads both boundaries of the slice.