← Python

Strings – Indexing: name[0]

Square bracket notation accesses a single character in a string by its zero-based position

What it does: Index 0 is always the first character. 'python'[0] is 'p'. Negative indices count from the end. -1 is always the last character. P=0, y=1, t=2, h=3, o=4, n=5. 'cat' has indices 0, 1, 2 — index 3 is out of range. [-1] is 'o', [-2] is the second from last: 'l'. A=0, l=1 — name[1] is the second character. Strings can't be changed in-place — create a new string instead. h-e-l-l-o = 5 characters.

Common mistakes: 'hello' has indices 0-4: index 5 is out of range. First character is at index 0, not 1.

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Learning

Duo

What index is the first character of a string?

Matches

❌ word = 'cat' word[3]

↓

Error: Index 3 out of range

Applying

Meanings

Term

Index

Meaning

The position number of a character in a string, starting at 0.

Practice

name = 'Python'

Testing

Gaps

print(name[])

Check Answer

Spots

2first = name[0]

3last = name[5]

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Quick Questions

1. What index is the first character of a string?

A. 0 ✓

B. 1

Python indexing starts at 0 — the first item is always [0]

2. What does 'Python'[0] return?

A. 'y'

B. 'P' ✓

Index 0 is the first character — 'P'

3. What does 'Python'[5] return?

A. 'n' ✓

B. 'o'

P=0, y=1, t=2, h=3, o=4, n=5

4. What does 'hello'[-1] return?

A. 'h'

B. 'o' ✓

Negative indices count from the end — [-1] is the last character

5. What does 'cat'[3] do?

A. IndexError ✓

B. Returns 't'

'cat' has indices 0, 1, 2 — index 3 is out of range

Match the Pairs

word = 'cat' word[3] → Error: Index 3 out of range

word = 'hello' word[1] = 'a' → Error: Strings are immutable

'python'[0] → Valid: Returns 'p'

'hello'[-1] → Ok: Returns last char 'o'

w = 'Python' print(w[0]) → Output: P

w = 'Python' print(w[-1]) → Output: n

Key Term

Index

The position number of a character in a string, starting at 0.~~string[0]

Fill in the Blanks

1. name = 'Python' print(name[0])

2. word = 'hello' print(word[-1])

3. name = 'Alice' print(len('Alice'))

4. text = 'code' print(text[2])

5. word = 'Python' print(word[5])

Spot the Error

Question 1

A name = 'hello'

B first = name[0]

C last = name[5]

D print(first, last)

Line C — 'hello' has indices 0-4: index 5 is out of range

Question 2

A name = 'hello'

B first = name[1]

C print('First letter:', first)

D # expects: h

Line B — First character is at index 0, not 1

Question 3

A name = 'hello'

B print('Before:', name)

C name[0] = 'H'

D print('After:', name)

Line C — Strings are immutable: you can't change individual characters

Question 4

A name = 'hello'

B index = '0'

C first = name[index]

D print('First:', first)

Line C — Index must be an integer, not a string

Question 5

A name = 'hello'

B first = name(0)

C print('First letter:', first)

D print('Done')

Line B — Use square brackets [] for indexing, not parentheses ()

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