Accessing List Elements

Part of the Fundamentals section of Coddy's Python journey — lesson 54 of 77.

In Python, we use lists to store multiple values in a single variable. Each value in a list is called an element, and each element has an index. The indices start from 0 to the length of the list minus one.

For example take a look at the next list:

my_list = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f', 'g']

Element a is at index 0
Element b is at index 1
...
Element g is at index 6

To access an element of a list, we can use its index within square brackets. For example, to access the first element of a list named my_list, we would use my_list[0].

Here's an example:

my_list = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
element = my_list[2]

The variable element will hold the value 30 because it access the third element (which has an index of 2).

Challenge

Easy

Create a function named values that receives a list as an argument and prints all of the items in the list one after the other.

For example, if the list is [1, 3, 5, 7], the output should be:

Important: The list is already provided to the function as the parameter lst. You don't need to read input or create the list — it is already passed as an argument when the function is called. This means inside your function, lst refers to the list you need to iterate through. You don't need to call the function — it is called automatically.

To iterate over a list and print each element, use the len() function inside the range() function:

def values(lst):
    for i in range(len(lst)):
        print(lst[i])

This way, i will iterate from 0 to len(lst) (not including), which covers exactly all of the list indices. lst[i] accesses the element at index i, and print() displays it on its own line.

Cheat sheet

In Python, lists store multiple values in a single variable:

my_list = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f', 'g']

List elements are accessed by index, starting from 0:

element = my_list[2]  # Accesses the third element (30)

To iterate over a list:

for i in range(len(my_list)):
    my_list[i]  # Access each element

The len() function returns the length of the list.

Try it yourself

def values(lst):
    # Write code here

Test yourself

This lesson includes a short quiz. Start the lesson to answer it and track your progress.

All lessons in Fundamentals

1Introduction

The Language Hello World!Comments

4Operators Part 2

Logical Operators Part 1 Logical Operators Part 2 Recap - Simple Logic Logical Operators Part 3 Logical Operators Part 4

7Bill Split Calculator

Welcome Message Getting Input

Calculating The Tip And Total

Splitting The Bill

Formatted Output

10FizzBuzz with a Twist

Game Overview The FizzBuzz Function

Looping The Numbers

Adding The Twist

13Lists Advanced

List Slicing Part 1 List Slicing Part 2 Sequence Operators Membership

2Variables

Numbers String Boolean Naming Conventions Empty Variables Recap - Initialize Variables

5Decision Making

If Statement If - Else Recap - Simple Calculator Nested If - Else

8Loops

For Loop While Loop Break Continue Recap - Factorial The Range Function Nested Loop Recap - Dynamic Input

11Lists Basics

Declaring a ListAccessing List ElementsModifying Lists List Methods Recap - Product List Recap - Reversed List Tuple

14Daily Expense Tracker

Project Overview Exit The Program

3Operators Part 1

Arithmetic Operators Modulo Operator Arithmetic Shortcuts Recap - Simple Math Comparison Operators

6Basic IO

Output Output With Variables Input Cast Recap - Till 120 Recap - True or False

9Functions

Declare a Function Arguments Return Recap - Sigma Function Recap - Validation Function Default Values

12Iterating Over Sequences

Iterating Over Elements The Enumerate Function Iterating Over Strings Part 1 Iterating Over Strings Part 2

15Final Challenges

Flat Asterisk Pyramid Pattern Finder What To Buy