20 free LPI Linux Essentials 010-160 practice questions from the CertStash pack of 80, each with the correct answer and a full explanation. The rule is the same for every exam: ten free on the product page, 20 free here, all 80 in the pack, and each step includes the one before it.
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Question 1
What are the differences between hard disk drives and solid state disks? (Choose two.)
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A, E. Hard disks have a motor and moving parts, solid state disks do not; Solid state disks provide faster access to stored data than hard disks.
Hard disk drives contain a motor and spinning platters with moving read/write heads, while solid state disks use flash memory with no moving parts (option A). SSDs provide significantly faster data access times because they don't require mechanical seek operations (option E). Option B is incorrect because SSDs can fail from electrical issues or flash memory degradation. Option C is false as HDDs typically store more data at lower cost. Option D uses an invalid device naming convention, SSDs use standard naming like /dev/sda, not /dev/ssda.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. SSDs can fail due to electrical damage, flash cell degradation, and controller failure, just like mechanical drives can fail.
- C. HDDs typically offer higher storage capacity and lower cost per gigabyte than SSDs, not the reverse.
- D. Linux device naming does not use /dev/ssda for SSDs; both HDDs and SSDs use /dev/sda, /dev/sdb naming conventions.
Question 2
Reverse DNS assigns hostnames to IP addresses. How is the name of the IP address 198.51.100.165 stored on a DNS server?
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Correct answer: B. In the PTR record for 165.100.51.198.in-addr.arpa.
Reverse DNS uses PTR (Pointer) records stored in the in-addr.arpa zone. The IP address 198.51.100.165 is reversed to 165.100.51.198 and appended to in-addr.arpa, creating the domain 165.100.51.198.in-addr.arpa, where the PTR record maps the IP back to a hostname. Option A incorrectly references an A record instead of PTR. Option C uses a non-standard RNAME record type. Option D uses rev.arpa which is not the standard reverse DNS suffix. Option E has the incorrect order and uses REV, which is not a DNS record type.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. A records map hostnames to IP addresses, not the reverse; they would not be used for reverse DNS lookups.
- C. RNAME is not a standard DNS record type used for reverse DNS; PTR is the correct record type.
- D. The standard suffix for reverse DNS is in-addr.arpa, not rev.arpa, and the octets must be in reversed order.
- E. REV is not a valid DNS record type, and the ordering of the IP octets is incorrect for reverse DNS.
Question 3
Which of the following types of bus can connect hard disk drives with the motherboard?
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Correct answer: D. The SATA bus
SATA (Serial ATA) is the standard bus interface used to connect hard disk drives and SSDs to the motherboard. It has largely replaced older standards like IDE/PATA and supports hot-swapping and higher data transfer rates. The RAM bus connects only memory modules. NUMA is a processor architecture design, not a physical bus. The CPU bus connects the processor to the chipset. The Auto bus is not a real computer bus interface.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. The RAM bus connects memory modules to the memory controller, not storage drives.
- B. NUMA is a multi-processor architecture paradigm, not a physical bus for connecting storage devices.
- C. The CPU bus (FSB) connects the processor to the chipset, not hard drives to the motherboard.
- E. The Auto bus is not a recognized computer bus standard for any hardware connections.
Question 4
Members of a team already have experience using Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For a small hobby project, the team wants to set up a Linux server without paying for a subscription. Which of the following Linux distributions allows the team members to apply as much of their Red Hat Enterprise Linux knowledge as possible?
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Correct answer: D. CentOS
CentOS is a free, open-source distribution that is binary-compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, using the same package management tools (yum/dnf), system architecture, and configuration methods. This allows team members with RHEL experience to apply their knowledge directly with minimal learning curve. Ubuntu uses Debian-based tools and different package management. Raspbian is designed for ARM-based Raspberry Pi devices. Debian uses different package management despite some similarities. openSUSE uses RPM packages but with different management tools and system design.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Ubuntu uses APT and Debian-based tools, which are significantly different from RHEL's YUM/DNF package management.
- B. Raspbian is optimized for ARM processors and Raspberry Pi hardware, not server use or RHEL compatibility.
- C. While Debian shares some similarities, it uses different package management and system administration tools than RHEL.
- E. openSUSE uses different package management tools, initialization systems, and administrative approaches compared to RHEL.
Question 5
What information can be displayed by top?
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Correct answer: B. Running processes, ordered by CPU or RAM consumption.
The top command displays real-time information about running processes, including their CPU and memory usage, and allows sorting by these metrics. It shows process ID, user, CPU usage percentage, memory usage percentage, and other runtime statistics. Option A describes file listing functionality. Option C and E refer to user account information. Option D relates to group membership, none of which are displayed by top.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Listing files and sorting by size is the function of commands like ls -lS, not top.
- C. User login counts are not displayed by top; this information might come from the who or last commands.
- D. Group membership information is not displayed by top; the groups command shows this information.
- E. User files are not tracked or displayed by top; file information comes from commands like find or ls.
Question 6
Which of the following commands can be used to resolve a DNS name to an IP address?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. host
The host command is a standard DNS lookup utility that resolves domain names to IP addresses (forward lookups) and IP addresses to hostnames (reverse lookups). It queries DNS servers directly and displays the results. Option A, B, and C are not real commands. Option E (iplookup) is not a standard Linux utility; the correct tools are host, nslookup, or dig.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. dnsname is not a standard Linux command for DNS resolution.
- B. dns is not a standalone command; it refers to the service, not a lookup utility.
- C. query is not a standard DNS resolution command in Linux.
- E. iplookup is not a standard Linux utility; host, nslookup, and dig are the correct DNS lookup tools.
Question 7
What is true about the dmesg command? (Choose two.)
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Correct answer: C, E. It displays the content of the Linux kernel's ring buffer; It might not display older information because it was overwritten by newer information.
The dmesg command displays messages from the Linux kernel's ring buffer, which stores boot and runtime kernel messages (option C). The ring buffer has a fixed size, so older messages are overwritten when the buffer fills with newer messages, meaning dmesg may not display all historical information (option E). Option A describes strace, not dmesg. Option B describes the wall command. Option D describes real-time journal monitoring with journalctl -f, not dmesg.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Command tracing and step-by-step execution output is provided by strace, not dmesg.
- B. Sending messages to all user sessions is the function of the wall command, not dmesg.
- D. Real-time output of new system journal messages is provided by journalctl -f, not dmesg.
Question 8
Which of the following outputs could stem from the command last?
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Correct answer: E. root tty2 Wed May 17 21:11 - 21:11 (00:00)
The last command displays login history in a formatted output showing username, terminal/device, date/time of login, and duration of the session. The output 'root tty2 Wed May 17 21:11 - 21:11 (00:00)' shows exactly this format: root is the user, tty2 is the terminal, the date and time show the login period, and (00:00) indicates a zero-minute session. Option A shows shell command history. Option B shows password change information. Option C shows a login message banner. Option D shows kernel filesystem messages from dmesg.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Shell command history with numbered list format is displayed by the history command, not last.
- B. Password change timestamps are shown by commands like chage or getent shadow, not last.
- C. Login banner messages are displayed at login time or shown by the motd file, not by the last command.
- D. Kernel filesystem mounting messages are shown by dmesg, not the last command.
Question 9
What is the UID of the user root?
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Correct answer: E. 0
The root user has a UID of 0 in Linux systems. The UID (User Identifier) is a non-negative integer that uniquely identifies users, and 0 is specifically reserved for the root superuser account, granting it full system privileges.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. UID 1 is typically assigned to system users or the bin user, not root.
- B. -1 is not a valid UID value in standard Linux systems.
- C. UID 255 would be an unprivileged user ID, not root.
- D. UID 65536 exceeds the typical maximum UID range on most systems.
Question 10
Which permissions are set on a regular file once the permissions have been modified with the command chmod 654 file.txt?
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Correct answer: E. -rw-r-xr--
The chmod command 654 represents octal notation where each digit applies to owner, group, and others respectively. 6 (owner) = rw-, 5 (group) = r-x, 4 (others) = r--. For a regular file, this produces -rw-r-xr--, with the leading dash indicating it's not a directory.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. This shows a directory (d prefix) and incorrect permission mapping.
- B. This shows a directory prefix and doesn't match the 654 octal encoding.
- C. This doesn't match the 654 octal values and shows incorrect permission assignments.
- D. This shows rwx for owner (7) instead of rw (6), and incorrect values for group and others.
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Question 11
What information is stored in /etc/passwd? (Choose three.)
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Correct answer: B, C, E. The numerical user ID; The username; The user's default shell
The /etc/passwd file stores seven colon-separated fields: username, encrypted password (or x placeholder), UID, GID, gecos, home directory, and shell. The numerical user ID (B), username (C), and default shell (E) are all stored in this file. Storage limits are not stored here, and modern systems keep encrypted passwords in /etc/shadow.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Storage space limits (quotas) are not stored in /etc/passwd; they are managed by separate quota systems.
- D. The encrypted password field contains an x placeholder in /etc/passwd; actual encrypted passwords are stored in /etc/shadow.
Question 12
Which of the following commands are used to get information on the proper use of ls? (Choose two.)
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Correct answer: D, E. man ls; info ls
The `man` command displays the manual page for a given command, and the `info` command provides additional information documentation. Both are standard ways to access help information on proper command usage in Unix/Linux systems.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. "option" is not a valid command for obtaining help on Linux systems.
- B. "usage" is not a standard command for accessing command documentation.
- C. "manual" is not a valid command; the correct command is "man".
Question 13
Which of the following commands will search for the file foo.txt under the directory /home?
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Correct answer: D. find /home -name foo.txt
The find command uses the syntax 'find [path] -name [filename]' to search for files by name. The '-name' option specifies the filename pattern to search for. The command 'find /home -name foo.txt' correctly searches for foo.txt in the /home directory and all its subdirectories.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. 'search' is not a standard Linux command; the correct command is 'find'.
- B. The search command with this syntax is invalid; 'foo. txt' would be interpreted incorrectly.
- C. There is a space in '- file' making it invalid syntax; the correct option is '-name' not '- file'.
- E. This syntax lacks the required '-name' option and will not correctly search for the filename.
Question 14
Which of the following keys can be pressed to exit less?
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Correct answer: D. q
The 'q' key is the standard command to quit the less pager. Less is a file viewer utility commonly used in Unix/Linux systems, and 'q' (for quit) is its primary exit command. This is consistent across all less implementations and is documented in the less manual.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. The 'l' key is used within less to jump to a specific line number, not to exit.
- B. The 'x' key has no standard function in less and will not exit the program.
- C. The 'e' key advances one line downward in less but does not exit.
- E. The '!' key enters shell command mode in less but does not exit the pager itself.
Question 15
Where is the operating system of a Raspberry Pi stored?
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Correct answer: C. On a removable SD card which is put into the Raspberry Pi.
The Raspberry Pi operating system is stored on a removable SD card that is inserted into a slot on the device. This is the standard method for installing and running operating systems on Raspberry Pi computers, allowing users to easily swap cards or reinstall the OS.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Raspberry Pi devices do not have IDE buses or master/slave device configurations.
- B. Raspberry Pi firmware does not contain a read-only OS partition in the same way traditional computers store BIOS.
- D. GPIO pins are for general-purpose input/output connections to external devices, not for OS storage.
- E. Raspberry Pi boards do not have built-in rewritable flash storage for the operating system; the SD card is the primary storage medium.
Question 16
Which of the following permissions are set on the /tmp/ directory?
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Correct answer: A. rwxrwxrwt
The /tmp/ directory has permissions rwxrwxrwt, which means read-write-execute for owner, group, and others, with the sticky bit (t) set on the others field. The sticky bit prevents users from deleting files owned by other users, essential for a shared temporary directory.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. This shows restrictive permissions that don't match /tmp/'s purpose as a world-writable directory.
- C. This shows the setgid bit (S) which is not a feature of /tmp/.
- D. This shows overly restrictive permissions and setgid rather than sticky bit.
- E. This shows restrictive permissions and capital X that don't match standard /tmp/ configuration.
Question 17
Which of the following commands adds the directory /new/dir/ to the PATH environment variable?
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Correct answer: E. export PATH=/new/dir: $PATH
The correct syntax is 'export PATH=/new/dir:$PATH' which exports the modified PATH variable to child processes. The 'export' keyword is required to make the variable available to subshells, the colon separates directory entries, and $PATH references the existing PATH value to preserve it.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Missing 'export' keyword; without it, the variable is not propagated to child processes.
- B. Missing 'export' keyword; also, unquoted variable reference will not work as intended.
- C. Missing the dollar sign before PATH on the right side; should be $PATH to reference the existing value.
- D. Invalid syntax; cannot use $PATH before the equals sign in assignment.
Question 18
Running the command rm Downloads leads to the following error: rm: cannot remove 'Downloads/': Is a directory Which of the following commands can be used instead to remove Downloads, assuming Downloads is empty? (Choose two.)
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Correct answer: B, E. rmdir Downloads; rm -r Downloads
The `rmdir` command is specifically designed to remove empty directories, and `rm -r` recursively removes directories (though `-r` is typically used for non-empty directories with files). Both commands can successfully remove an empty directory like Downloads.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. "undir" is not a valid Linux command.
- C. "dir -r" is not a valid command for removing directories; the `-r` flag is not a standard option for the `dir` command.
- D. "rem" is not a valid Linux command for removing directories.
Question 19
Which of the following commands creates an archive file work.tar from the contents of the directory ./work/?
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Correct answer: B. tar -cf work.tar ./work/
The command tar -cf work.tar ./work/ correctly creates a tar archive. The -c flag specifies create mode, and the -f flag specifies the output filename. This is the standard syntax for creating a tar archive from a directory.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. --new is not a valid tar option for archive creation.
- C. -create and -content are not valid tar options; the correct syntax uses -c and -f flags.
- D. Using input redirection with < is incorrect for tar; the -f flag must be used to specify the archive file.
- E. Output redirection > does not properly create a tar archive; the -f flag is required.
Question 20
What is true about a recursive directory listing?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. It includes the content of sub-directories.
A recursive directory listing includes the content of all sub-directories within the target directory, typically obtained using the `-R` flag with the `ls` command. This shows the entire directory tree structure and all files contained within.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Directory permissions are displayed in a standard listing but are not unique to recursive listings.
- C. File system internals like inodes are typically displayed with specialized commands like `ls -i`, not inherent to recursive listings.
- D. Ownership information is shown in standard detailed listings but is not specific to recursive directory listings.
- E. File content previews are not provided by standard recursive directory listings; these commands only list metadata.
That was 20 of 80.
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