200-901 Software Development and Design Practice Question
A Python function needs to accept a variable number of keyword arguments. Which parameter syntax should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between *args (positional arguments) and **kwargs (keyword arguments), and candidates mistakenly choose *kwargs or confuse the syntax with other operators like &.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
**kwargs
In Python, the **kwargs syntax allows a function to accept a variable number of keyword arguments by collecting them into a dictionary. This is the correct parameter syntax for handling arbitrary keyword arguments, as specified in Python's function definition rules.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
*kwargs
Why it's wrong here
Invalid syntax; single star is for positional arguments.
- ✓
**kwargs
Why this is correct
**kwargs collects keyword arguments into a dict.
- ✗
*args
Why it's wrong here
*args collects positional arguments into a tuple.
- ✗
&kwargs
Why it's wrong here
Invalid Python syntax.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 989 original 200-901 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-901 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco 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 200-901 exam.