DP-900 Describe core data concepts Practice Test 6 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A retail company receives real-time data from IoT sensors in its warehouses. Each sensor sends a JSON payload containing a device ID, timestamp, and temperature reading. A data engineer needs to classify this data for storage planning. Which data type best describes the JSON payload?

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

Accepted Answer

Semi-structured data. The JSON payload is considered semi-structured data because it has organizational properties (key-value pairs, nested structure) that provide a schema, but it does not conform to a rigid tabular schema like a relational database. JSON allows flexible fields and varying data types, which is characteristic of semi-structured data.

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Structured data

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Unstructured data

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Relational data

Question 2

A retail company stores product inventory data in a SQL database, customer reviews as JSON files, and product images as JPEG files. Which of the following accurately describes the types of data stored?

Accepted Answer

D. Structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data are stored.. The company stores product inventory data in a SQL database, which enforces a fixed schema (tables, rows, columns) and is therefore structured data. Customer reviews stored as JSON files are semi-structured because they have a flexible schema (key-value pairs) but no rigid table structure. Product images as JPEG files are unstructured because they lack any predefined schema or organization. Option D correctly identifies that all three data types are present.

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A. Only structured data is stored because the SQL database contains the primary records.

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B. Only semi-structured and unstructured data is stored because JSON and images are not purely structured.

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C. Only unstructured data is stored because images have no predefined schema.

Question 3

A company stores customer information in a SQL database with fixed columns (CustomerID, Name, Email). They also store scanned PDF contracts and product images in a file storage system. Which statement correctly describes the types of data mentioned?

Accepted Answer

The customer information is structured, and the files are unstructured.. Customer information stored in fixed columns (CustomerID, Name, Email) follows a strict schema with defined data types and relationships, making it structured data. Scanned PDF contracts and product images are binary files with no inherent schema or organization, fitting the definition of unstructured data. Option C correctly pairs these classifications.

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Both the customer information and the files are structured data.

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The customer information is semi-structured, and the files are unstructured.

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Both the customer information and the files are unstructured.

Question 4

A retail company stores data about their products in different formats. Product ID and price are stored in a relational database table. Product descriptions are stored as plain text files. Product images are stored as JPEG files. Which of the following best categorizes these data types in order?

Accepted Answer

Structured, unstructured, unstructured. Product ID and price in a relational database table are structured because they follow a fixed schema with rows and columns. Product descriptions as plain text files have no predefined structure, making them unstructured. Product images as JPEG files are also unstructured because they consist of binary data without a schema. Thus, the order is structured, unstructured, unstructured, which matches option B.

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Structured, semi-structured, unstructured

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Structured, semi-structured, structured

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Semi-structured, structured, unstructured

Question 5

A retail company maintains a database of customer information including CustomerID, Name, Address, and Phone. Each record follows the same fixed schema. This type of data is best described as:

Accepted Answer

Structured data. Structured data conforms to a fixed schema where each record has the same fields (CustomerID, Name, Address, Phone) and data types, making it ideal for relational database storage. This rigid, tabular format allows efficient querying using SQL and enforces consistency across all rows.

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Semi-structured data

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Unstructured data

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Relational data

Question 6

A data engineer loads raw log files into a storage system. The structure of the data is interpreted at the time of reading, allowing queries to apply schema on the fly without preprocessing. This approach is best described as:

Accepted Answer

Schema-on-read. Schema-on-read means the data is stored in its raw, unstructured form, and the schema is applied dynamically when the data is queried. This is exactly what happens when raw log files are loaded into a storage system like Azure Data Lake Storage and queried with tools like Azure Synapse Serverless SQL or Apache Spark, which infer the schema at query time without requiring preprocessing.

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Schema-on-write

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Data warehouse

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Data virtualization

Question 7

A research team needs to store thousands of PDF reports that vary in length and structure. The storage solution must allow flexible schema and support access from multiple programming languages via HTTP. Which data storage category best describes these reports?

Accepted Answer

Unstructured data. C is correct because PDF reports with varying length and structure are binary files that do not conform to a predefined data model or schema, which is the definition of unstructured data. Azure Blob Storage or Amazon S3 are typical services for storing such unstructured data, accessed via HTTP REST APIs from any programming language.

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Structured data

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Semi-structured data

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Transactional data

Question 8

A company collects temperature readings from IoT sensors every second. Each reading includes a timestamp, sensor ID, and temperature value. The data is used for real-time monitoring and historical trend analysis. Which type of data is this most likely classified as?

Accepted Answer

Structured data. The data consists of timestamp, sensor ID, and temperature value, each with a defined data type and relationship, fitting a tabular schema (rows and columns) typical of relational databases. This structured format enables efficient querying for real-time monitoring and historical trend analysis using SQL-based systems like Azure SQL Database or Azure Synapse Analytics.

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Semi-structured data

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Unstructured data

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Streaming data

Question 9

A company operates an online store where customers place orders and the system immediately updates inventory and records payments. This workload is best described as:

Accepted Answer

OLTP (Online Transaction Processing). This workload is best described as OLTP because it involves real-time, high-frequency transactions that immediately update inventory and record payments. OLTP systems are designed for concurrent, atomic operations that maintain data integrity, which is exactly what an online store's order processing requires.

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OLAP (Online Analytical Processing)

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Batch processing

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Data warehousing

Question 10

A retail company uploads daily sales data from all stores to Azure Blob Storage at midnight. They then run a series of data transformations using Azure Data Factory on a scheduled trigger at 2:00 AM. This processing pattern is best described as:

Accepted Answer

Batch processing. This pattern is batch processing because the sales data is collected in Azure Blob Storage over a period (daily) and then processed as a group at a scheduled time (2:00 AM) using Azure Data Factory. Batch processing is designed for high-volume, periodic data loads where latency is acceptable, and the transformation job runs on a complete dataset rather than individual records.

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Stream processing

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Transactional processing

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Interactive query

Question 11

A hospital collects patient vital signs every minute using IoT sensors. Each reading contains a timestamp, patient ID, heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature. This data is ingested continuously for real-time monitoring and alerting. Which type of data workload does this scenario best represent?

Accepted Answer

D. Real-time streaming. This scenario requires continuous ingestion of sensor data with immediate processing for real-time monitoring and alerting. Real-time streaming workloads, such as those handled by Azure Stream Analytics or Apache Kafka, are designed to process unbounded data streams with low latency, making option D correct.

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A. Transactional workload

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B. Analytical workload

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C. Batch processing

Question 12

A startup is building a mobile app that allows users to share short text updates. Each update includes a user ID, timestamp, and message text. The development team expects rapid growth and needs a storage solution that can scale horizontally, handle high write throughput, and provide low-latency reads globally. Which Azure data service is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Azure Cosmos DB with a multi-master configuration and partition on user ID.. Azure Cosmos DB with a multi-master configuration is the most appropriate choice because it provides global distribution with multiple write regions, enabling horizontal scaling and low-latency reads and writes worldwide. Partitioning on user ID ensures even data distribution and efficient query performance for the app's high write throughput requirements.

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Azure SQL Database with a single database.

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Azure Blob Storage with append blobs.

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Azure Table Storage with user ID as partition key and timestamp as row key.

Question 13

A company stores customer orders in a relational database. The database enforces rules that every order must have a unique order number and must be linked to an existing customer record. This enforcement of rules to ensure accuracy and consistency is an example of which data concept?

Accepted Answer

Data integrity. Data integrity refers to the enforcement of rules that ensure the accuracy, consistency, and reliability of data throughout its lifecycle. In this scenario, the relational database enforces entity integrity (unique order numbers) and referential integrity (linking orders to existing customer records), which are core mechanisms for maintaining data correctness.

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Data schema

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Data redundancy

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Data latency

Question 14

A social media application allows users to post updates and like posts. After a user clicks the like button, the like count must update immediately and be exactly the same for all users viewing the post. Which data consistency model best fits this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Strong consistency. Strong consistency ensures that after a write operation (like clicking the like button) completes, any subsequent read operation returns the most recent write. This guarantees that all users viewing the post see the exact same, up-to-date like count immediately. This is required for the social media scenario where the like count must be identical for all viewers without any delay.

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Eventual consistency

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Session consistency

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Bounded staleness consistency

Question 15

A company stores customer names and addresses in a fixed-format file where each record has the same fields in the same order. This type of data is best described as:

Accepted Answer

Structured data. A fixed-format file where each record has the same fields in the same order is a classic example of structured data. Structured data conforms to a rigid schema, such as a table with defined columns and data types, making it easily searchable and processable by relational database systems like Azure SQL Database. The consistent field order and fixed format allow for direct parsing without interpretation.

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Semi-structured data

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Unstructured data

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Streaming data