Quick Answer
The answer is Amazon Athena, as it is the only AWS service purpose-built for running serverless SQL queries directly on data stored in Amazon S3 without any infrastructure to manage. Athena leverages Presto under the hood to execute standard SQL, making it ideal for ad-hoc transformations that run occasionally, since you pay only for the data scanned per query and there is no cluster to provision or maintain. On the AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 exam, this question tests your ability to distinguish between serverless querying and managed ETL or compute services—common traps include choosing AWS Glue (which is for scheduled, persistent ETL jobs) or Amazon Redshift Spectrum (which still requires a running Redshift cluster). A helpful memory tip: think of Athena as “SQL on S3 without servers,” and remember that if the scenario says “ad-hoc” or “occasional,” Athena is almost always the correct pick.
This DEA-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data ingestion and transformation. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company wants to transform data in Amazon S3 using SQL queries without provisioning servers. The transformations are ad-hoc and run occasionally. Which service should be used?
AWS Glue
Why wrong: Glue is for ETL jobs, not ad-hoc queries.
Amazon Redshift Spectrum
Why wrong: Spectrum requires a Redshift cluster.
Amazon EMR
Why wrong: EMR requires provisioning and managing a cluster.
Amazon Athena
Athena is serverless and supports SQL queries directly on S3 data.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Amazon Athena
Amazon Athena allows querying S3 data with standard SQL without server management. AWS Glue is for scheduled ETL jobs. Amazon EMR requires cluster provisioning. Amazon Redshift Spectrum queries S3 but requires a Redshift cluster.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
AWS Glue
Why it's wrong here
Glue is for ETL jobs, not ad-hoc queries.
Amazon Redshift Spectrum
Why it's wrong here
Spectrum requires a Redshift cluster.
Amazon EMR
Why it's wrong here
EMR requires provisioning and managing a cluster.
Amazon Athena
Why this is correct
Athena is serverless and supports SQL queries directly on S3 data.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
What to study next
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Data Ingestion and Transformation — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Data Ingestion and Transformation practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All DEA-C01 questions
1,786 questions across all exam domains
AWS Certified Data Engineer Associate DEA-C01 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
DEA-C01 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to Data Ingestion and Transformation.
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to Data Operations and Support.
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to Data Security and Governance.
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to Data Store Management.
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to DEA-C01 fundamentals.
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to DEA-C01 scenario.
Practise DEA-C01 questions linked to DEA-C01 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Data Ingestion and Transformation — This question tests Data Ingestion and Transformation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Amazon Athena — Amazon Athena allows querying S3 data with standard SQL without server management. AWS Glue is for scheduled ETL jobs. Amazon EMR requires cluster provisioning. Amazon Redshift Spectrum queries S3 but requires a Redshift cluster.
Identify which DEA-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
This DEA-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DEA-C01 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.