FC0-U71 Applications and Software Practice Question
A database administrator needs to retrieve all customer names from a table named 'Customers' where the city is 'New York'. Which SQL statement should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse DML commands (UPDATE, INSERT, DELETE) with the DQL retrieval command (SELECT) — candidates who skim may pick UPDATE because it mentions the same column and value, missing that the question asks to retrieve, not modify.
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
✓
SELECT Name FROM Customers WHERE City = 'New York'
The SELECT statement is the only SQL command that retrieves data without modifying it. The syntax SELECT Name FROM Customers WHERE City = 'New York' correctly specifies the column to return (Name), the table to query (Customers), and the filter condition (City = 'New York'). This returns exactly the customer names in New York as required.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
UPDATE Customers SET Name = 'New York' WHERE City = 'New York'
Why it's wrong here
UPDATE modifies existing rows, overwriting every New York customer's Name with the literal 'New York', and returns no result set. It is tempting because its WHERE clause filters on City, and would be correct when changing stored values rather than reading them.
- ✓
SELECT Name FROM Customers WHERE City = 'New York'
Why this is correct
The SELECT clause names the column Name, FROM targets the Customers table, and WHERE filters rows on City = 'New York', satisfying the stated city constraint. This returns only matching customer names rather than every row.
- ✗
INSERT INTO Customers (Name) VALUES ('New York')
Why it's wrong here
INSERT adds a new row containing the value 'New York' in the Name column; it returns no existing customer names and mutates data. It is tempting because it targets the Customers table, and would be correct when adding a new customer record.
- ✗
DELETE FROM Customers WHERE City = 'New York'
Why it's wrong here
DELETE removes all rows where City equals 'New York', destroying the data the administrator needs to read. It is tempting because its WHERE clause correctly filters on City, and would be correct when purging customer records, not retrieving names.
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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 FC0-U71 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 FC0-U71 exam.