How do I delete items from a list without changing the list directly?

Question

How do I delete items from states (the list name) without changing states directly?
Here's the code:
states = [
    'ACTIVE',
    ['red', 'green', 'blue'],
    'CANCELLED',
    'FINISHED',
    5,]
The question wants me to remove the last item from the list. Here's how I did it:
states.remove([5])  
I couldn't include the comma after the 5 without getting a syntax error.
The message I received is Don't change states directly.
Any ideas how to correct the list without changing the list (list is states).
Thanks!
```lists.py
states = [
    'ACTIVE',
    ['red', 'green', 'blue'],
    'CANCELLED',
    'FINISHED',
    5,]
```

Ryan S · Accepted Answer

Hi Jan,
Square brackets define a list, so when you are trying to pass in [5] into .remove(), you are trying to remove a list containing only one item, the number 5.
[5] does not exist in states, but 5 does.
When using .remove(), you need to provide only the item that you want to remove. You don't need to worry about commas because they are not part of the list items themselves (unless there is a list item that is a string that happens to have a comma in it).
python
states.remove(5)

There are other ways of accomplishing what the challenge is asking, such as using index values, but they will be shown in upcoming videos.
Good luck.

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Jan Lundeen

Jan Lundeen

How do I delete items from a list without changing the list directly?

1 Answer

Ryan S

Ryan S

Jan Lundeen

Jan Lundeen