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FC0-U71 Practice Question: A developer writes a query: SELECT * FROM…
A developer writes a query: SELECT * FROM Employees WHERE Department = 'Sales'. Which statement about this query is true?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse the SELECT clause with the WHERE clause, mistakenly thinking SELECT * returns all rows (option D) or only a specific column (option C), when in fact SELECT * returns all columns and WHERE filters rows.
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
✓
It returns all columns for employees in Sales
The SELECT * clause retrieves all columns from the specified table, and the WHERE Department = 'Sales' filter restricts the result set to only those rows where the Department column has the value 'Sales'. Therefore, the query returns every column for employees in the Sales department, making option B correct.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
It sorts results by Department
Why it's wrong here
WHERE filters rows by the Department condition; it never orders output. Sorting requires an ORDER BY Department clause, which this query lacks. The temptation is that Department appears in the statement, but it appears only as a filter predicate, not a sort key.
- ✓
It returns all columns for employees in Sales
Why this is correct
The asterisk wildcard projects every column defined in the Employees table, while the WHERE clause filters rows to those whose Department value equals 'Sales'. Both operations combine: row filtering restricts which records qualify, and column projection determines what data each qualifying row returns. This satisfies the stem's requirement of retrieving complete employee records for that department.
- ✗
It returns only the Department column
Why it's wrong here
SELECT * returns every column of the Employees table, not just Department. Projecting a single column requires naming it explicitly, as in SELECT Department FROM Employees. Department here is only the filter condition, so it does not restrict the output columns.
- ✗
It returns all rows from the Employees table
Why it's wrong here
The WHERE clause restricts output to rows where Department equals 'Sales', so non-Sales rows are excluded. Returning all rows would require omitting the WHERE clause entirely. The filter is the whole point of the statement, so this option misreads its effect.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
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