DA0-002 Data Concepts and Environments Practice Question
An organization uses a data warehouse for analytics. The data team wants to load data from source systems into the warehouse. They choose to load raw data first and then perform transformations within the warehouse. Which approach are they using?
⚠ Common exam trap
DA0-002 often tests the order of operations — candidates confuse ETL and ELT by assuming transformation always happens before loading, but the phrase 'load raw data first, then transform' is the explicit ELT signal.
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
✓
ELT
ELT (Extract, Load, Transform) is correct because the raw data is extracted from source systems and loaded directly into the data warehouse before any transformation occurs. Transformations are then performed inside the warehouse using its own compute engine (e.g., SQL, dbt, or Snowflake virtual warehouses). This is the defining characteristic of the ELT pattern, which leverages modern cloud warehouse scalability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
ELT
Why this is correct
ELT extracts raw source data, loads it into the warehouse unchanged, then transforms it using the warehouse's own compute. This matches the described sequence exactly, distinguishing it from ETL, where transformation occurs in a staging area before loading.
- ✗
Data lake
Why it's wrong here
A data lake stores raw data of any format, typically for later schema-on-read processing, but the stem specifies a data warehouse as the target. Data lakes suit exploratory analytics over unstructured or semi-structured data, not the warehouse load-then-transform approach described.
- ✗
Data mart
Why it's wrong here
A data mart is a subset of a warehouse serving one department's reporting needs; it is a storage scope, not a load-then-transform pattern. Data marts are the right choice when isolating departmental analytics, not when describing where transformations occur relative to loading.
- ✗
ETL
Why it's wrong here
ETL transforms data before loading it into the warehouse, so raw data never lands first. The stem describes ELT, where extraction and load precede in-warehouse transformation. ETL is chosen when target-side compute is limited or transformations must occur before loading.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This DA0-002 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 DA0-002 exam.