What does the sorted() function do?

The sorted() function in Python is designed to return a new list that contains all the elements of the original iterable (like a list) organized in ascending order, from the smallest to the largest. It does not modify the original list but creates a new, sorted copy. This functionality makes it useful for ordering data without affecting the original arrangement.

For instance, if you have a list of numbers and you want to sort them, using sorted() will generate a new list containing the numbers in order while leaving the initial list unchanged. This is particularly handy when you need to retain the original data for other operations while also requiring a sorted version for display or further processing.

The other options relate to different functionalities that the sorted() function does not perform. For example, it does not compute the sum of list values, count items, or add new elements to the list. Each of these actions has its own corresponding function in Python, such as sum() for calculating totals, len() for counting items, and append() for adding new values to a list.