This MLS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of modeling. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 data scientist is using Amazon SageMaker to train a model with a custom Docker container. The training job fails with an error: 'Container exited with code 137'. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
The training data was corrupted.
Why wrong: Corrupted data would cause a different error.
The training job exceeded the maximum runtime.
Why wrong: That would be a timeout, not exit code 137.
The Docker entrypoint script was not found.
Why wrong: That would cause exit code 127 or similar.
The training instance ran out of memory.
Exit code 137 indicates OOM kill.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
The training instance ran out of memory.
Exit code 137 (128+9) indicates the container was killed by the SIGKILL signal, which typically occurs when the Linux Out-Of-Memory (OOM) killer terminates a process that has exceeded its memory allocation. In Amazon SageMaker, training instances have finite memory, and if the training algorithm or data loading exceeds that limit, the OOM killer forcibly stops the container, resulting in exit code 137.
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.
The training data was corrupted.
Why it's wrong here
Corrupted data would cause a different error.
The training job exceeded the maximum runtime.
Why it's wrong here
That would be a timeout, not exit code 137.
The Docker entrypoint script was not found.
Why it's wrong here
That would cause exit code 127 or similar.
The training instance ran out of memory.
Why this is correct
Exit code 137 indicates OOM kill.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse exit code 137 with a generic 'container error' or 'runtime timeout' (option B), not realizing that 137 specifically signals a SIGKILL from the OOM killer due to memory exhaustion.
Trap categories for this question
Similar concept trap
That would cause exit code 127 or similar.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, the Linux kernel's OOM killer uses a heuristic based on the `oom_score` of processes to select a victim when system memory is exhausted. In SageMaker, the training container runs with memory limits set by the instance type (e.g., ml.m5.large has 8 GB RAM), and if the process exceeds this, the kernel sends SIGKILL (signal 9), which the container runtime reports as exit code 137. A real-world scenario is when a model loads a large dataset entirely into memory without batching, causing the OOM killer to terminate the job even if the instance seems adequate.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
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FAQ
Modeling — This question tests Modeling — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: The training instance ran out of memory. — Exit code 137 (128+9) indicates the container was killed by the SIGKILL signal, which typically occurs when the Linux Out-Of-Memory (OOM) killer terminates a process that has exceeded its memory allocation. In Amazon SageMaker, training instances have finite memory, and if the training algorithm or data loading exceeds that limit, the OOM killer forcibly stops the container, resulting in exit code 137.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This MLS-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 MLS-C01 exam.
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