Exercise 1 solution

    import sys

    def growth_points(n):
        a = []
        out = []
        last = sys.getsizeof(a)
        for i in range(n):
            a.append(i)
            size = sys.getsizeof(a)
            if size != last:
                out.append(len(a))
                last = size
        return out

    print(growth_points(100))

One run printed:
    [1, 5, 9, 17, 25, 33, 41, 53, 65, 77, 93]

(Exact points can differ between Python versions.)

The gaps are small at first (4, 4, 8, 8, 8, 8, 12, 12, 12, 16) and slowly
widen, because each new block is larger in proportion to the current size.
Growth steps therefore become rarer as the list grows, which is why append
is cheap on average.