A1: Tuples in Python are a type of data structure that are used to hold multiple objects or values in a single variable. They are similar to lists but are immutable, meaning their content cannot be changed after they are created. This immutability can be useful when you want to ensure that the data remains constant throughout the execution of the program. They are often used to store related pieces of data, such as the coordinates of a point in a 3D space (x, y, z). Because of their immutability, tuples are more memory efficient than lists.

A2:

1. ‘a * 3’ would create a tuple with the elements of ‘a’ repeated 3 times, resulting in (1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3). On the other hand, ‘(a, a, a)’ would create a tuple with the tuple ‘a’ repeated 3 times, resulting in ((1, 2, 3), (1, 2, 3), (1, 2, 3)).
2. Yes, ‘a * 3’ is equivalent to ‘a+a+a’ in Python. Both would result in (1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3).
3. ‘a[1:1]’ would return an empty tuple. In Python, the slice operation is inclusive of the start index and exclusive of the end index. So this slice starts and ends at the same index, resulting in an empty tuple.
4. ‘a[1:2]’ would return a tuple with the element at index 1, resulting in (2,). ‘a[1:1]’, as explained before, would result in an empty tuple.