Python Coding Challange - Question with Answer (01090825)

 

Let’s go through it step-by-step:

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def square_last(nums):
    nums[-1] **= 2

• def square_last(nums): → Defines a function named square_last that takes a parameter nums (expected to be a list).

• nums[-1] → Accesses the last element in the list. In Python, -1 is the index for the last item.

• **= → This is the exponentiation assignment operator. x **= 2 means "square x" (raise it to the power of 2) and store it back in the same position.

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a = [2, 4, 6]

• Creates a list named a with three elements: 2, 4, and 6.

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square_last(a)

• Calls the function square_last, passing a as nums.

• Inside the function, nums[-1] is 6.

• 6 **= 2 → 6 squared = 36.

• This updates the last element of the list to 36.

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print(a)

• Since lists are mutable in Python, the change inside the function affects the original list.

• Output will be:

[2, 4, 36]

400 Days Python Coding Challenges with Explanation