List Slicing in Python

Here are 10 hands-on exercises on list slicing in Python along with their solutions.

Exercise 1: Given a list numbers, create a new list containing the first three elements.

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
result = numbers[:3]
print(result)

Solution 1: Output: [1, 2, 3]

Exercise 2: Given a list letters, extract the last two elements.

letters = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e']
result = letters[-2:]
print(result)

Solution 2: Output: ['d', 'e']

Exercise 3: Given a list my_list, create a new list containing every second element, starting from the first element.

my_list = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90]
result = my_list[::2]
print(result)

Solution 3: Output: [10, 30, 50, 70, 90]

Exercise 4: Given a list fruits, extract a sublist containing the fruits from the third element to the fifth element.

fruits = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'date', 'fig', 'grape']
result = fruits[2:5]
print(result)

Solution 4: Output: ['cherry', 'date', 'fig']

Exercise 5: Given a list numbers, extract all even-indexed elements.

numbers = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
result = numbers[::2]
print(result)

Solution 5: Output: [0, 2, 4, 6, 8]

Exercise 6: Given a list colors, create a new list containing the last three elements in reverse order.

colors = ['red', 'green', 'blue', 'yellow', 'purple']
result = colors[-1:-4:-1]
print(result)

Solution 6: Output: ['purple', 'yellow', 'blue']

Exercise 7: Given a list nums, extract a sublist containing the elements from index 2 to the end in steps of 2.

nums = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
result = nums[2::2]
print(result)

Solution 7: Output: [3, 5, 7, 9]

Exercise 8: Given a list words, extract a sublist containing the first two elements and the last two elements.

words = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'date']
result = words[:2] + words[-2:]
print(result)

Solution 8: Output: ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'date']

Exercise 9: Given a list numbers, extract a sublist containing all elements except the first and last elements.

numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
result = numbers[1:-1]
print(result)

Solution 9: Output: [20, 30, 40]

Exercise 10: Given a list characters, create a new list containing every third element, starting from the second element.

characters = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f', 'g', 'h', 'i']
result = characters[1::3]
print(result)

Solution 10: Output: ['b', 'e', 'h']

These exercises should help you practice and become more comfortable with list slicing in Python.

Further Reading