010-160 Practice Test 15 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A system administrator creates a shared directory /srv/collab and sets its permissions to 1777. Users report that they can create files but cannot delete files created by other users. Which statement describes the effect of the leading 1 in the permission mode?

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

Accepted Answer

It sets the sticky bit, which restricts deletion of files in the directory to the file owner, the directory owner, or root.. The leading 1 in a numeric mode sets the sticky bit on a directory. When applied to a world-writable directory, it restricts deletion and renaming of files to the file owner, the directory owner, or root. This is exactly why users can create files but cannot delete files owned by others.

Answer

It sets the SGID bit, causing new files to inherit the directory's group ownership.

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It enables mandatory locking, preventing users from deleting files while they are open by another process.

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It sets the SUID bit, allowing any user to execute files in the directory with the directory owner's privileges.

Question 2

A consultant is preparing a presentation about the Linux ecosystem. She needs to explain the relationship between the kernel and a complete Linux distribution. Which statement best describes this relationship?

Accepted Answer

The kernel is the core that manages hardware and system resources, while a distribution bundles the kernel with utilities, libraries, and package management.. The kernel is the privileged core managing hardware and resources through system calls, while a distribution packages that kernel with user-space utilities, libraries, an init system, and package management. This division explains why different distributions can share kernel versions yet differ greatly in tooling and support. The other statements misidentify components or conflate the two concepts.

Answer

The kernel and a distribution are the same thing; the terms are interchangeable in modern Linux usage.

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A distribution is a graphical desktop environment, and the kernel is the command-line shell used to launch it.

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A distribution is maintained solely by the kernel developers, and the kernel is compiled separately by each end user.

Question 3

A file named payroll.csv has permissions -rw-r-----. The user owner is carol, and the group owner is hr. A user named dave, who is not carol and not a member of hr, attempts to read the file. What will happen?

Accepted Answer

Dave will be denied access because he falls into the 'others' category, which has no read permission.. Linux evaluates file permissions by checking the most specific category that applies to the user: owner first, then group, then others. Dave is not the owner and not in the hr group, so he falls into the others category, which has no permissions. Consequently, the kernel denies his read request, and he receives a permission denied error.

Answer

Dave will be granted read access because the owner has read permission and all users inherit owner permissions.

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Dave will be denied access because the file is not world-readable, regardless of group membership.

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Dave will be granted read access because the group has read permission and he is a regular user.

Question 4

A system administrator needs to identify which process is listening on TCP port 80 on a Linux server. Which command is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

netstat -tulpn | grep :80. To find the process listening on a specific port, the command must display both the socket and the owning process. netstat with -tulpn provides that mapping, and filtering for port 80 pinpoints the service. Alternatives like ps or ifconfig lack port-to-process association, and ss without -p omits the process name.

Answer

ps aux | grep httpd

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ss -tuln

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ifconfig -a

Question 5

A Linux user wants to create a new directory named 'projects' and then move an existing file named 'report.txt' into it. Which two commands will accomplish these tasks? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

mv report.txt projects/. Creating a directory requires mkdir, and moving a file into it requires mv. The combination of mkdir projects and mv report.txt projects/ achieves both goals. Copying leaves the original in place, touch creates a file instead of a directory, and rm deletes rather than moves.

Answer

rm report.txt projects/

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touch projects

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cp report.txt projects/

Question 6

A community college instructor is preparing course materials for an introductory Linux class and wants students to understand how the GNU General Public License (GPL) differs from permissive licenses such as the MIT License. Which statement accurately describes a key difference between these two license types?

Accepted Answer

The GPL requires that derivative works distributed to others be licensed under the GPL, while the MIT License permits derivative works to be relicensed under proprietary terms.. The key difference is copyleft versus permissive licensing. The GPL ensures that distributed derivative works remain under the GPL with source available, protecting user freedoms downstream. The MIT License instead allows reuse in proprietary products with minimal conditions, typically just attribution and license inclusion. Understanding this distinction helps students evaluate how projects can be combined and redistributed.

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The MIT License requires that all modifications be published back to the original project, while the GPL only requires attribution in documentation.

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The GPL applies only to the Linux kernel, whereas the MIT License applies to all other open source software.

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The GPL forbids any commercial use of the software, while the MIT License allows companies to sell products built on the code.

Question 7

A user needs to change their own password on a Linux system. Which command should they use?

Accepted Answer

passwd. The passwd command is the correct tool for users to change their own passwords. It handles the secure update of the password hash in /etc/shadow. Other commands like usermod and chage are administrative tools for managing accounts and policies, not for self-service password changes.

Answer

usermod -p

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shadow

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chage

Question 8

A help-desk analyst needs to see which processes are consuming the most CPU and memory in real time, and must be able to sort and kill a runaway process interactively. Which utility best fits this requirement?

Accepted Answer

top. top is the classic interactive process viewer on Linux: it refreshes on an interval and lets the operator sort by CPU or memory and send signals to processes without leaving the utility. That single-tool workflow of live observation plus immediate corrective action is what the analyst needs.

Answer

free -h

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ps aux

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uptime

Question 9

A Linux administrator is troubleshooting a server that fails to boot completely. The system starts but drops into an emergency shell. Which command should the administrator use to view the most recent kernel messages that might indicate the cause?

Accepted Answer

dmesg | tail -50. The kernel ring buffer, accessed via dmesg, holds the most recent kernel messages, including those generated during boot. When a system drops to an emergency shell, dmesg is often still available and can reveal hardware or driver errors. Other logs may be incomplete or unavailable in that state, making dmesg the most direct tool.

Answer

journalctl -b -p err

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cat /var/log/syslog

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last -x

Question 10

A nonprofit organization wants to deploy a Linux distribution whose development is guided by a foundation with transparent governance and community-elected leadership, rather than a single commercial vendor. Which distribution characteristic is most relevant to this decision?

Accepted Answer

Community governance with published decision-making processes. The organization's requirement is about who governs the distribution and how decisions are made, not about technical update mechanics. Community governance with published, transparent processes and elected leadership is the characteristic that demonstrates the project is not steered by a single commercial vendor. Patch frequency, repository size, and release model all describe operations rather than governance.

Answer

Whether the distribution uses a rolling or fixed release model

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The size of the distribution's package repository

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The frequency of security patch releases

Question 11

A small business owner wants to replace a proprietary office suite with LibreOffice on Linux workstations. A consultant explains that LibreOffice is distributed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. Which characteristic of this license matters most for the business owner's decision to adopt and modify the software internally?

Accepted Answer

The MPL 2.0 requires that any file-level modifications be made available under the MPL when distributed, but it permits combining MPL files with proprietary files in a larger work.. The Mozilla Public License 2.0 balances copyleft and permissiveness by applying obligations per file. Modified MPL files must remain MPL-licensed when distributed, but they can be combined with proprietary files in a larger work. For a business integrating LibreOffice with internal tools, this file-level approach avoids forcing disclosure of unrelated proprietary code, making adoption and customization practical.

Answer

The MPL 2.0 is a strong copyleft license identical in effect to the GNU GPL, so any internal proprietary integration would be a license violation.

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The MPL 2.0 grants no patent rights, so the business would risk patent litigation by deploying LibreOffice in its operations.

Answer

The MPL 2.0 prohibits internal modification of the source code, allowing only unmodified redistribution of the original package.

Question 12

A university lab is choosing a license for a new data-analysis tool developed by students. The lab wants other researchers to be able to use, modify, and redistribute the tool, but also wants any modified versions distributed to others to remain open source. Which licensing approach best fits these goals?

Accepted Answer

Release the tool under a copyleft license such as GPLv3, which requires distributed modified versions to remain under the same license.. The lab wants broad freedom to use and modify the tool, plus a guarantee that distributed modified versions stay open source. A copyleft license such as GPLv3 provides exactly that combination by requiring derivative distributions to carry the same license and source availability. Permissive licenses and public domain would allow proprietary derivatives, which conflicts with the lab's second goal.

Answer

Release the tool as public domain, which removes all copyright and thus requires all future versions to be open source.

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Keep the tool proprietary but publish documentation under a Creative Commons license so researchers can read about the methods.

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Release the tool under a permissive license such as BSD 3-Clause, which allows modified versions to be redistributed under proprietary terms.

Question 13

A hospital IT team is evaluating open source software for a patient scheduling system. Legal counsel asks how the team can verify that the project's license permits commercial use and modification while requiring attribution. Which action best addresses this concern?

Accepted Answer

Review the project's declared license text against the Open Source Initiative's approved license list. Legal verification requires the actual license terms, not marketing claims, price, or verbal assurances. Comparing the project's license text to the Open Source Initiative's approved list confirms that commercial use and modification are permitted, and licenses such as Apache 2.0 or BSD explicitly state attribution obligations. This approach produces the defensible evidence legal counsel requires.

Answer

Ask the vendor's sales representative to confirm the permitted uses in writing

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Confirm that the software can be downloaded at no cost from the vendor

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Check whether the project's website describes itself as 'free' or 'open'

Question 14

A helpdesk technician is asked to install a Linux distribution on a spare workstation for a new employee who needs a full desktop environment. The technician wants to minimize the time spent selecting packages during installation. Which type of Linux distribution should the technician choose?

Accepted Answer

A full desktop-oriented distribution such as Ubuntu Desktop or Fedora Workstation. Desktop-oriented distributions bundle a graphical environment and common applications, so the installer handles most package selection automatically. This minimizes the technician's manual choices and delivers a ready-to-use workstation for the new employee. Source-based, minimal, and live-only options either require extensive manual package selection or do not provide a persistent full desktop installation.

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A source-based distribution such as Gentoo

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A minimal server distribution such as Debian netinst or AlmaLinux minimal

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A live-only distribution such as Knoppix without an installer

Question 15

A student is preparing for a career as a Linux system administrator and wants to understand the difference between a Linux distribution and the Linux kernel. Which statement best describes the relationship?

Accepted Answer

The Linux kernel is the core of the operating system, and a distribution packages the kernel with utilities, libraries, and a package manager to form a complete system.. The Linux kernel is the low-level core that interacts with hardware and manages resources. A distribution builds on the kernel by adding user-space utilities, libraries, a package manager, and often a desktop environment. This distinction is fundamental for anyone pursuing a Linux administration career, as it clarifies where responsibilities lie.

Answer

A distribution is the core of the operating system, and the Linux kernel is an optional add-on that provides a graphical interface.

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The Linux kernel and a distribution are the same thing, but distributions are sold commercially while the kernel is free.

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A distribution is a proprietary version of the kernel that vendors customize for their hardware, while the kernel is only used in embedded devices.