How do you access the first element of a list in Python?

Accessing the first element of a list in Python is achieved by using index 0. Python lists are zero-indexed, meaning that the indexing starts at 0. Therefore, the first element is located at the index position 0.

For example, if you have a list defined as my_list = [10, 20, 30], accessing my_list[0] will return the value 10, which is the first element of that list. This characteristic of zero-based indexing is a fundamental aspect of Python and similar programming languages, making it essential to understand when working with lists.

The other choices presented do not accurately reflect how to access elements in a list in Python. Using index 1 would retrieve the second element, while there is no built-in first() function or first_element() method in Python for this purpose. Therefore, option A is the only correct way to access the first element of a list in Python.