The answer is that the lifecycle rule transitions objects to GLACIER after 30 days, making them inaccessible to Athena. This is because Amazon Athena can only query data stored in S3 Standard, S3 Intelligent-Tiering, S3 Standard-IA, or S3 One Zone-IA; it cannot read objects in the GLACIER or DEEP_ARCHIVE storage classes, as those require restoration first. On the AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty MLS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how S3 lifecycle policies interact with Athena’s query capabilities—a common trap is assuming that permission errors always stem from IAM policies, when in fact the storage class itself blocks access. Remember that Athena queries fail after S3 lifecycle transition to GLACIER because the service needs the data to be immediately retrievable, not archived. A quick memory tip: “Glacier freezes queries” — if your logs are older than the transition rule, thaw them first.
MLS-C01 Data Engineering Practice Question
This MLS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of data engineering. 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.
Refer to the exhibit. A CloudFormation template creates an S3 bucket. The data engineering team stores daily log files in this bucket and queries them using Amazon Athena. After 30 days, queries on logs older than 30 days start failing with 'Access Denied' errors. What is the MOST likely reason?
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.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The lifecycle rule transitions objects to GLACIER after 30 days, making them inaccessible to Athena.
Option C is correct because the lifecycle rule transitions objects to GLACIER after 30 days, and Athena cannot query objects in GLACIER storage class. Option A is wrong because transition to GLACIER does not affect permissions. Option B is wrong because object is not deleted until 365 days. Option D is wrong because SSE-S3 is not mentioned.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
The lifecycle rule transitions objects to GLACIER after 30 days, making them inaccessible to Athena.
Why this is correct
Athena cannot query GLACIER objects; they must be restored first.
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.
✗
The bucket uses default encryption with SSE-S3, which Athena does not support.
Why it's wrong here
Athena supports SSE-S3.
✗
The lifecycle rule deletes objects after 30 days.
Why it's wrong here
ExpirationInDays is 365, not 30.
✗
The bucket policy denies access to objects older than 30 days.
Why it's wrong here
No bucket policy is defined in the template.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
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
How to think about this question
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.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which MLS-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 Engineering — This question tests Data Engineering — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The lifecycle rule transitions objects to GLACIER after 30 days, making them inaccessible to Athena. — Option C is correct because the lifecycle rule transitions objects to GLACIER after 30 days, and Athena cannot query objects in GLACIER storage class. Option A is wrong because transition to GLACIER does not affect permissions. Option B is wrong because object is not deleted until 365 days. Option D is wrong because SSE-S3 is not mentioned.
What should I do if I get this MLS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which MLS-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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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