This CKAD practice question tests your understanding of application design and build. 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.
You have a Job that runs a batch process. The Job YAML is as follows:
apiVersion: batch/v1 kind: Job metadata: name: batch-job spec: parallelism: 4 completions: 12 backoffLimit: 2 template: spec: containers: - name: worker image: myapp:latest restartPolicy: Never
If one pod fails after 3 successful completions, and the Job has already completed 7 successes, how many pods will be running at that point? Assume no other failures.
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "never"
Why it matters: Absolute qualifier. True only if the statement has zero exceptions — be cautious of options that seem obvious but break down in edge cases.
4
The controller maintains up to 4 pods running (parallelism) even after a failure, as long as backoffLimit is not exceeded.
3
Why wrong: Incorrect; the controller will start a new pod to replace the failed one, maintaining parallelism.
7
Why wrong: Incorrect; 7 is the number of successes, not running pods.
5
Why wrong: Incorrect; parallelism is 4, so at most 4 pods run at a time.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
4
Option B is correct. The Job has parallelism 4, meaning up to 4 pods run concurrently. At the moment, 7 successes have been completed, so the Job still needs 5 more completions. The Job controller will keep running pods up to parallelism to achieve the remaining completions. When one pod fails, a new pod will be created to replace it because backoffLimit is 2 (meaning up to 2 retries allowed). So there will still be 4 pods running (some may be new). The answer depends on assuming the Job controller maintains parallelism. With 12 completions needed and 7 already done, 5 remain. The controller will run up to 4 pods concurrently, so 4 pods will be running.
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.
4
Why this is correct
The controller maintains up to 4 pods running (parallelism) even after a failure, as long as backoffLimit is not exceeded.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "never" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
3
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; the controller will start a new pod to replace the failed one, maintaining parallelism.
7
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; 7 is the number of successes, not running pods.
5
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect; parallelism is 4, so at most 4 pods run at a time.
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 practitioner preparing for the CKAD exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Identify which CKAD 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.
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FAQ
Application Design and Build — This question tests Application Design and Build — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: 4 — Option B is correct. The Job has parallelism 4, meaning up to 4 pods run concurrently. At the moment, 7 successes have been completed, so the Job still needs 5 more completions. The Job controller will keep running pods up to parallelism to achieve the remaining completions. When one pod fails, a new pod will be created to replace it because backoffLimit is 2 (meaning up to 2 retries allowed). So there will still be 4 pods running (some may be new). The answer depends on assuming the Job controller maintains parallelism. With 12 completions needed and 7 already done, 5 remain. The controller will run up to 4 pods concurrently, so 4 pods will be running.
Identify which CKAD 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.
Yes — watch for: "never". Absolute qualifier. True only if the statement has zero exceptions — be cautious of options that seem obvious but break down in edge cases.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
This CKAD practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF 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 CKAD exam.
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