220-1101 Practice Test 15 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician is setting up a small office network. The router has only four LAN ports, but the office has six computers and two network printers that all need to be connected to the same network. Which additional device should the technician use to connect all devices?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

A switch. A switch is the correct choice because it provides multiple Ethernet ports (typically 8, 16, or 24) and operates at Layer 2 of the OSI model, forwarding frames based on MAC addresses. This allows the technician to connect the six computers and two printers (eight devices total) to the router's single LAN port via the switch, creating a single broadcast domain while efficiently managing traffic.

Answer

A hub

Answer

A modem

Answer

A patch panel

Question 2

A small office wants to provide guest Wi-Fi access without allowing guests to access the internal company network. Which of the following is the BEST way to isolate guest traffic?

Accepted Answer

Configure a separate VLAN for guest traffic.. A separate VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) segments guest traffic at Layer 2, preventing it from reaching the internal company network. By assigning guest Wi-Fi traffic to a dedicated VLAN with no inter-VLAN routing to the corporate VLAN, guests are logically isolated even though they share the same physical infrastructure.

Answer

Set a strong WPA2 password.

Answer

Enable MAC address filtering.

Answer

Disable SSID broadcast.

Question 3

A user's smartphone with a removable battery begins to randomly shut down and restart. The technician notices that the battery percentage jumps erratically. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The battery is worn out and needs replacement. The erratic battery percentage jumps and random shutdowns are classic symptoms of a worn-out lithium-ion battery that can no longer hold a stable charge. As the battery ages, its internal resistance increases and its voltage sags under load, causing the device's power management IC to misread the remaining capacity and trigger unexpected shutdowns. Replacing the battery restores stable voltage output and accurate fuel gauge reporting.

Answer

The operating system requires an update

Answer

The SIM card is loose

Answer

The screen is malfunctioning

Question 4

A user reports that their Android smartphone's touchscreen is unresponsive. The user performed a factory reset, but the problem persists. The technician notices that the screen has several deep scratches but no cracks. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Failed digitizer. The digitizer is the component responsible for detecting touch input on a smartphone screen. Deep scratches can physically damage the digitizer's conductive layer, causing unresponsiveness even though the display (LCD) itself may still function. A factory reset cannot repair physical damage, so the problem persists, confirming a hardware failure in the digitizer.

Answer

Corrupted firmware

Answer

Dead pixels

Answer

Damaged LCD

Question 5

A technician wants to set up a virtualization lab on a laptop running Windows 10 to test different operating systems. The laptop has 16GB of RAM. Which type of hypervisor is MOST appropriate for this scenario?

Accepted Answer

Type 2 (hosted) hypervisor. A Type 2 (hosted) hypervisor runs as a software layer on top of an existing operating system (Windows 10 in this case). It is the most appropriate choice for a laptop lab because it allows the technician to use the host OS for daily tasks while running virtual machines for testing different operating systems. Type 2 hypervisors like VMware Workstation or VirtualBox are designed for client hardware and do not require dedicated server-class resources.

Answer

Type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisor

Answer

Container-based virtualization

Answer

Cloud-based virtualization service

Question 6

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop PC that randomly shuts down after about 30 minutes of use. The technician has already swapped the power supply unit (PSU) with a known-good 550W unit, but the issue persists. The system is running a standard productivity workload with no overtaxing of components. Which of the following should the technician check NEXT?

Accepted Answer

CPU cooler thermal paste application and cooler seating. Since the PSU has already been replaced with a known-good unit and the system is not under heavy load, the most likely cause of a consistent 30-minute shutdown is thermal throttling or overheating due to poor CPU cooler contact. Dried-out or improperly applied thermal paste, or a cooler that is not seated evenly, can cause the CPU to reach critical temperature thresholds (typically around 100°C for modern Intel/AMD processors) after a period of sustained operation, triggering an automatic shutdown to prevent damage.

Answer

RAM module seating and memory diagnostics

Answer

Motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaking

Answer

Hard drive health using S.M.A.R.T. diagnostics

Question 7

A company hosts its e-commerce application on a public cloud provider. The architecture includes duplicate virtual servers in two separate geographic regions. A global load balancer monitors server health. If an entire region becomes unavailable due to a natural disaster, the load balancer automatically reroutes all traffic to the remaining region. The application continues to run without any manual intervention. This capability is BEST described by which cloud characteristic?

Accepted Answer

Fault tolerance. Fault tolerance. This scenario describes a system that continues operating without interruption when an entire region fails, automatically rerouting traffic via a global load balancer. Fault tolerance specifically refers to a system's ability to continue functioning, without any downtime or manual intervention, even when a component or entire infrastructure fails. High availability (A) aims to minimize downtime but typically allows for brief interruptions or manual failover, whereas this design ensures zero-touch, continuous operation.

Answer

High availability

Answer

Scalability

Answer

Elasticity

Question 8

A user reports that they cannot access the company's external website at www.company.com from their workstation. Other users on the same network can access the website without issues. The technician runs nslookup www.company.com and receives the correct public IP address. The technician then pings that IP address and gets a successful reply. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

The user's hosts file has an incorrect mapping for www.company.com. The nslookup returned the correct public IP, and a ping to that IP succeeded, confirming DNS resolution and network connectivity are working. However, the user's browser cannot reach the website, which points to a local redirection issue. The hosts file (located at %SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) can override DNS by mapping a domain to a different IP; an incorrect entry for www.company.com would cause the browser to attempt to connect to the wrong address, even though the network path is functional.

Answer

The website's SSL certificate has expired

Answer

The user's web browser needs to be updated

Answer

The company's firewall is blocking the user's IP address

Question 9

A user reports that their smartphone has distorted sound coming from the earpiece speaker during phone calls, but the loudspeaker and headphone jack work normally. The user has already tried turning up the volume and cleaning the earpiece grille. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Faulty earpiece speaker. The earpiece speaker is a dedicated hardware component separate from the loudspeaker and audio jack. Since the loudspeaker and headphone jack function normally, the issue is isolated to the earpiece speaker itself, making a faulty earpiece speaker the most likely cause. Cleaning the grille and adjusting volume did not resolve the problem, further supporting a hardware failure rather than a software or connection issue.

Answer

Broken audio jack

Answer

Software audio bug

Answer

SIM card issue

Question 10

An iPhone 12 charges slowly when connected to a laptop's USB 3.0 port, but charges normally when using the original wall adapter and cable. The technician has already tested the cable with the wall adapter and it works correctly. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the slow charging?

Accepted Answer

The laptop's USB port provides lower amperage than the wall adapter. USB 3.0 ports on laptops typically provide a maximum of 0.9A (900mA) of current, while the iPhone 12's original wall adapter can deliver up to 2.4A or more via USB-A to Lightning, or 20W via USB-C Power Delivery. Since the cable works correctly with the wall adapter, the bottleneck is the laptop's USB port's lower amperage, which directly limits charging speed.

Answer

The Lightning cable is damaged

Answer

iOS battery optimization feature is limiting charging speed

Answer

The charging port on the iPhone is damaged

Question 11

A user reports that their iPhone screen is cracked in the bottom-left corner. The display works correctly, but the touch input in the cracked area is unresponsive. The rest of the touchscreen functions normally. Which of the following is the BEST repair option?

Accepted Answer

Replace the complete screen assembly. The iPhone uses a fused display assembly where the LCD, digitizer, and glass are bonded together. Since the digitizer (touch layer) is damaged in the cracked area, replacing only the digitizer is not practical without specialized equipment to separate it from the LCD. Replacing the complete screen assembly restores both display and touch functionality, making it the best option.

Answer

Replace only the digitizer

Answer

Replace only the LCD

Answer

Apply a tempered glass screen protector

Question 12

A company uses a public cloud IaaS provider. A developer needs to create a new virtual machine for testing. The developer logs into the cloud management console, selects the desired OS and size, and launches the VM. The VM is ready within minutes. No interaction with the cloud provider's staff is required. Which cloud computing characteristic does this best represent?

Accepted Answer

On-demand self-service. The scenario describes a user provisioning a virtual machine without any human interaction with the cloud provider, which is the defining characteristic of on-demand self-service. This capability is a core NIST definition of cloud computing, allowing users to automatically provision computing resources as needed without requiring service provider intervention.

Answer

Resource pooling

Answer

Rapid elasticity

Answer

Measured service

Question 13

A user reports that their desktop computer shuts down unexpectedly after about 30 minutes of use. The technician reads CPU temperature sensors in BIOS and sees the CPU idles at 45°C but quickly rises to 95°C under load before the system shuts down. The heatsink fan is spinning. Which of the following is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The thermal paste between CPU and heatsink has dried out.. The CPU idles at 45°C but quickly spikes to 95°C under load, triggering a thermal shutdown. Since the heatsink fan is spinning, the most likely cause is degraded thermal paste, which has lost its ability to efficiently transfer heat from the CPU die to the heatsink, leading to rapid overheating even with active cooling.

Answer

The power supply is failing.

Answer

The RAM has a timing error.

Answer

The motherboard VRM is overheating.

Question 14

A user reports that their iPhone's touchscreen is unresponsive after the device was accidentally dropped in a puddle. The technician dries the phone, performs a forced restart, and cleans the screen, but the touch remains unresponsive. However, the display still shows images correctly. Which component is most likely damaged?

Accepted Answer

Digitizer. The digitizer is the component responsible for converting touch input into electrical signals. Since the display still shows images correctly but the touchscreen is unresponsive, the LCD panel and backlight are functioning, isolating the damage to the digitizer layer.

Answer

LCD panel

Answer

Backlight

Answer

Battery

Question 15

A user reports that their smartphone battery percentage jumps erratically—for example, showing 50% then suddenly dropping to 10% and shutting down. The technician verifies the battery is not swollen, the charging port is clean, and the device charges normally. Which of the following should the technician try NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Calibrate the battery. The erratic battery percentage drop without physical swelling or charging issues indicates a software calibration problem, not a hardware failure. Calibrating the battery resets the fuel gauge chip's learned capacity values, allowing the operating system to accurately report charge levels. This is the correct next step before replacing the battery.

Answer

Replace the battery

Answer

Update firmware

Answer

Replace the charging port