KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
A pod has resource requests: cpu: 250m, memory: 512Mi and limits: cpu: 500m, memory: 1Gi. If the container tries to use 600m CPU and 700Mi memory, what will happen?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse compressible (CPU) and non-compressible (memory) resources, incorrectly assuming that exceeding any limit leads to termination, whereas CPU only causes throttling and memory causes termination.
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
✓
The container will be throttled for CPU, but will not be killed because memory is within limits
CPU is a compressible resource: exceeding the CPU limit (500m) causes throttling, not termination. Memory is a non-compressible resource, and since the container's memory usage (700Mi) is below its limit (1Gi), it will not be killed. The container will be CPU-throttled but allowed to continue running.
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 container will be allowed to use the extra resources because limits are only soft constraints
Why it's wrong here
Limits are hard constraints; exceeding CPU leads to throttling, memory leads to termination.
- ✗
The container will be throttled for CPU and may be terminated if it continues to exceed the limit
Why it's wrong here
CPU exceeding limit causes throttling, not termination. Only memory limit violation leads to termination.
- ✓
The container will be throttled for CPU, but will not be killed because memory is within limits
Why this is correct
CPU above limit -> throttled; memory below limit -> no OOM kill.
- ✗
The container will be killed immediately because it exceeded its CPU limit
Why it's wrong here
CPU limits do not cause termination; they cause throttling.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This KCNA 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 KCNA exam.