This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of technology. 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.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Describe, start, and stop EC2 instances, but not terminate them.
The IAM policy explicitly allows ec2:Describe*, ec2:StartInstances, and ec2:StopInstances actions, but does not include ec2:TerminateInstances. Therefore, the user can describe, start, and stop EC2 instances, but cannot terminate them. The Deny effect on ec2:TerminateInstances is not present, but the absence of an Allow means the action is implicitly denied.
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.
✓
Describe, start, and stop EC2 instances, but not terminate them.
Why this is correct
Allow actions include describe, start, stop; deny overrides for terminate.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Perform all EC2 actions including terminate.
Why it's wrong here
Terminate is explicitly denied.
✗
Only describe EC2 instances.
Why it's wrong here
The policy also allows StartInstances and StopInstances.
✗
Only start and stop instances.
Why it's wrong here
Describe is also allowed.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may assume the wildcard ec2:Describe* also covers start/stop/terminate actions, but it only grants read-only Describe permissions, not lifecycle management actions.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
IAM policies evaluate by default deny; an explicit Allow is required for any action. The ec2:Describe* wildcard covers all Describe actions (e.g., DescribeInstances, DescribeVolumes), while StartInstances and StopInstances are specific actions. Without an Allow for TerminateInstances, the action is implicitly denied, even if no explicit Deny exists. In real-world scenarios, this policy is common for operations teams that need to manage instance lifecycle but prevent accidental deletion.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Technology — This question tests Technology — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Describe, start, and stop EC2 instances, but not terminate them. — The IAM policy explicitly allows ec2:Describe*, ec2:StartInstances, and ec2:StopInstances actions, but does not include ec2:TerminateInstances. Therefore, the user can describe, start, and stop EC2 instances, but cannot terminate them. The Deny effect on ec2:TerminateInstances is not present, but the absence of an Allow means the action is implicitly denied.
What should I do if I get this PAS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
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 →
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.
This PAS-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 PAS-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.