PCEP Practice Question: Functions, Tuples, Dictionaries and Exceptions

Exhibit

def outer():
    x = 10
    def inner():
        nonlocal x
        x = 20
        print(x)
    inner()
    print(x)

outer()

Refer to the exhibit. What is the output?

⚠ Common exam trap

Many exam-takers confuse the unpacking of a tuple in a function call with printing the tuple directly, leading them to think the output is a single value or misorder the printed numbers.

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

✓

20 20

The exhibit shows a function `process` that takes a tuple `data` and converts it to a list, modifies the first element to 20, and returns a tuple of the first two elements. When called with `(10, 20, 30)`, the first call returns `(20, 20)`, so `print(process((10, 20, 30))[0])` prints `20`. The second call does the same, so `print(process((10, 20, 30))[1])` also prints `20`. Thus, the output is two lines each containing `20`.

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 20
Why this is correct
Correct. Both prints show 20.
✗
10 20
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. The order is first inner prints, then outer prints.
✗
10 10
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. The variable is modified.
✗
20 10
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. The nonlocal modification affects the outer variable.

Go deeper

PCEP Practice Question: Functions, Tuples, Dictionaries and Exceptions

Exhibit

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

Related to this question